Singing Softly
by FeathersEverywhere
Summary: Bella runs Karaoke night at Eclipse bar twice a week. Edward comes in each time but leaves with a different woman every time. Will their love of singing and karaoke lead them to each other or will Edward continue with his playboy ways?
1. Chapter 1

**SM owns all things Twilight, blah, blah, blah. **

**So this story came into my head and wouldn't leave so I needed to get the start of it out at least. I haven't given up on Infatuation, in fact the next chapter is almost done. **

"Hey everyone. Welcome to Karaoke night at Eclipse. I'm your host Bella. For those of you who don't know the drill, there is a song list on each table, as well as slips of paper and pens. Check out the book, write down what you want to sing and bring it on up. I'll call you when it's your turn. Let's all have a good time tonight." I put the mic down on the stool and glance around the room. He comes every time, he has to be here, he's always here. Of course he goes home with a different skank every time, but I just can't keep my eyes off of him.

His voice is smooth and sweet like melted chocolate. He always sings, never the same thing, but at least one song and the genre varies every time. His voice is beautiful and so is he. Reddish brown hair that is in complete disarray like he just had the best sex of his life, and based on the amount of times he takes a girl home with him I would say that was a fair assessment. His jaw is strong and chiseled, I long to run my tongue along it. His bright green eyes are like a beacon, they call to me and my hoohah. He usually wears jeans and a button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and I swear to you that I have NEVER had a thing for forearms, but this guy, he give good forearm. Holy god! I get wet just thinking about all the things I want to do to this man and what I want him to do to me.

_Get a hold of yourself Bella. He's a manwhore; you don't need to be getting worked up over a guy like that._

It's just not fair. My inner voice is right, I shouldn't be getting worked up over a guy like that, but sweet baby Jesus I want him.

I don't see him in the bar yet, but there are a few people already putting in requests. I guess it's time to get this party started.

"First up, Jared. Let's give him a round of applause." Everyone in the bar clapped and I could hear whistling and hollering going on.

Jared steps up on stage and grabs the mic. I start the song and the music comes from the speakers. The screen lights up with the intro to the song and soon Jared starts singing. It doesn't start off that bad, but once he gets into the song it's absolutely horrible. Nothing like _him_, he sings perfectly. Speaking of which, where is he? I finally spot him sitting at one of the booths, he's looking in the book of songs, although I'm not sure why. I'm fairly certain he knows what's in there by heart. He's sitting there with a big guy with cute dimples, black curly hair and a really great smile. Next to him is a lanky looking guy with blond wavy hair and eyes so bright and blue I can see them from here. They are all talking, laughing and drinking their beers as they looks over the songs.

Someone clears their throat behind me, bringing me out of my ogling.

"Sorry about that." I take the mic and get back to what I'm actually here for. "Give a round of applause for Jared. That's was great." More clapping comes from the bar as I grab the next slip to see who is up next.

"Next up we have…" I pause for a moment to read what's on the slip. Looks like we have a bachelorette party here tonight. This should be fun. "Jessica, who is getting married in 2 days. Give it up for the bride to be."

A girl with frizzy long brown hair ambles her way up to the stage; she's bright red with embarrassment. "I've never done this before. What do I do?" She asks timidly.

"It's really easy. Just watch the screen and the words will be highlighted when it's time for you to sing. Just keep your eyes on the screen. You'll love it, trust me."

"Thanks." She grabs the mic and headed to the front of the stage. Hoots and hollers come from everywhere as I get the song started. The beginning notes of Miley Cyrus' _Party in the USA_ started up and I rolled my eyes. Miley Cyrus, really? Does no-one have any decent taste in music anymore? Jessica starts off slow and quiet, but she reallygets into it once the chorus comes around for the second time. She's actually doing a pretty good job and the crowd is eating it up. The song ends and she looks beside herself. I can't help but smile and give her a high five.

"Well done. I told you you could do it."

"Thanks for the encouragement. I really loved it. I'm definitely doing that again." She said.

"Good, go have a good time and I'll see you back up here in a bit Jessica." She walked off the stage happily to her party who were all screaming at her that she did a great job.

"Great job Jessica. Everyone give her a hand, she did amazing for her first time up here."

Moving right along. The next person was up doing a sloppy rendition of _Don't Stop Believing_ by Journey when he came up.

"Hello Bella." His smooth voice cut through me as if I was butter. I practically melted.

"Hey. What are you singing tonight?" I grabbed the slip to take a peek but he suddenly grabbed it away from me. I gasped and looked up at him. He was giving me the smile I imagined dropped all the panties; I know it made me want to drop mine, and my breath caught in my throat. Holy hell he's beautiful. Those green eyes seemed to be sparkling at me and I couldn't tear my eyes away.

"You'll just have to wait and see." He picked up my stack of requests and put his at the very bottom before turning back to his table leaving me utterly speechless.

20 minutes and half a dozen bad singers singing even worse songs and it was time for Edward to sing. I was giddy with anticipation.

"Thank you Sam. That was great!" I pulled the slip and smiled to myself. He had chosen one of my favorites and I couldn't wait to hear him sing it.

"Next up is Edward. Come on up here big boy." Holy shit; did I just call him big boy? Judging by the smirk on his face and the way his friends were laughing I did just call him that. FUCK. MY. LIFE!

"Big boy huh? Maybe I'll let you see just how big a boy I actually am later Bella." He brushed passed me with a wink as he grabbed the mic and went up on stage. My face had to be flaming red; I could feel the heat coming off it. I started the song and then the sweet sound of his voice lulled me into trance.

_Watch the sunrise_

_Say your goodbyes_

_Off we go_

_Some conversation_

_No contemplation_

_Hit the road_

_Car overheats_

_Jump out of my seat_

_On the side of the highway baby_

_Our road is long_

_Your hold is strong_

_Please don't ever let go, oh no_

He's singing to the crowd, working it like only he can. Suddenly he turns to face me and sings the next verse.

_I know I don't know you_

_But I want you so bad_

He turns back to the crowd and doesn't miss a beat

_Everyone has a secret_

_But can they keep it_

_Oh no they can't_

_I'm driving fast now_

_Don't think I know how to go slow_

_Where you at now_

_I feel around_

_There you are_

_Cool these engines_

_Calm these jets_

_I ask you how hot can it get_

_And as you wipe off beads of sweat_

_Slowly you say "I'm not there yet!"_

_I know I don't know you_

_But I want you so bad_

_Everyone has a secret_

_But can they keep it_

_Oh no they can't_

The song finishes and I swear I can't breathe. I'm sweating and panting like I've just run a marathon, my head resting in the palm of my hand as I lean over the table just staring at him. I quickly compose myself as he eats up the applause and wolf whistles.

"Bella." He hands me back the mic and brushes his fingers on mine and I swear I feel something, something that threatens to bring me to my knees right there.

"Whew, is it hot in here? Give it up for Edward everyone." More clapping and whistling ensues.

The night was going really smoothly. I noticed and leggy blonde over at Edward's table and she was all over him. Her hands were running all over his chest and she was whispering in his ear. He would say something to her and she would giggle and get more touchy feely. I wanted to rip her hair out.

_Down girl. You know what's going to happen next, just get over it already. _

The burly guy with dimples staggered up to the stage and handed over his slip.

"Hey." He said and flashed his megawatt smile at me.

"Hey yourself handsome. What are we singing tonight?"

"Just a little CCR. Gotta go with the classics baby."

"There's nothing better. I'll get to you as soon as I can…" I look at the slip he handed me to get his name. "Emmett. Cute."

"Cute huh? No one has ever said my name was cute before."

"I wasn't commenting on your name." I winked at him and he laughed.

"Well thanks. I guess I'll be seeing you again soon Bella."

"It would seem so Emmett." He walked off back to his table. I chanced a glance over there and noticed Edward had a scowl on his face and it was directed at Emmett. He glared at him as he made his way back to the table. Emmett gave the blonde one a fist bump and the bimbo tried to get Edward's attention back on her, it didn't take much and soon he was nuzzling in her neck. I looked away at that point, not wanting to see any more.

There was a lull in requests and usually at this point I took to the stage to get a few more people to get the courage to come up and sing. I spoke into the microphone and let everyone know that there was plenty of time to get requests in then started my song.

_Hearts break too fast when they're sentimental  
Won't stay, won't last when it's love at first sight  
So why are my convictions blinded by your spotlight  
Can't breath, can't sleep  
Need some medication  
I've kissed goodbye to my reservations  
I know there's other fish out in the seas  
Not for me  
I want you_

I peeked out in the direction of Edward's table and his gaze was fixed right on me. He was leaning into his table, completely ignoring the blonde bimbo shoving her fake boobs in his face. I smirked as I continued.__

If I can't have you  
Then I don't want anyone  
I don't want anyone  
If I can't have you  
Then only damage has been done, baby  
We can break these rules  
If you wanna have some fun  
If you wanna have some fun  
Think of all the love that you will lose  
If I can't have you  
If I can't have you

Heartbeat cold sweat  
Thoughts slippin' under  
Can't fight no threat  
'Cause there's just no use  
One look, no hesitation I'm slipping into you  
Forgive these eyes, these lips you're tastin'  
No time to waste on an invitation  
My shame, my self-control has suffered enough  
And everybody wants to be loved

If I can't have you  
Then I don't want anyone  
I don't want anyone  
If I can't have you  
Then only damage has been done, baby  
We can break these rules  
If you wanna have some fun  
If you wanna have some fun  
Think of all the love that you will lose  
If I can't have you  
If I can't have you  
If I can't have you  
If I can't have you  
I haven't seen the best that love has had to offer  
They say perfection's always right around the corner  
Could be true  
But if I can't have you

If I can't have you  
Then I don't want anyone  
I don't want anyone  
If I can't have you  
Then only damage has been done, baby  
We can break these rules  
If you wanna have some fun  
If you wanna have some fun  
Think of all the love that you will lose  
If I can't have you  
If I can't have you

If I can't have you  
If I can't have you  
If I can't have you  
Think of all the love that you will lose  
If I can't have you

The applause of the crowded bar was deafening as my song came to an end.

"Thanks guys. Come on up with your requests!" I went off to the side of the stage to go through the new requests that came up as I sung.

"WOW, Bella. That was fucking hot!" I looked up to see Emmett's smiling face in front of me. He was beaming at me. It was cute really, but hell he had nothing on Edward, but alas Edward is a manwhore and therefore off limits. I smiled at Emmett, what harm could a little flirting do, right?

"Hey, that was awesome. You are fantastic. I'm Jasper by the way." The blond guy who is sitting with Edward had his hand out to me, so I grasped it and he pulled my hand to lips to kiss it.

"Hi, I'm Bella. So, Jasper, are you singing tonight?" I asked him.

"I was actually just coming up here with a request. Sweet Home Alabama." He stated with a slight southern drawl.

"You boys and your classics. Gotta love it. Alright, you two shoo. I have work to do." I waved them off back to their seats so I could get the next person up here and actually do my job.

"Lauren, where are ya babe? You're up!" Lauren, as it turned out was a drunken mess and apparently with the bachelorette party. Her choice of "Dirty" by Christina Aguilera was just appalling. I was tempted to cut off my ears so I wouldn't have to listen to it anymore about 10 seconds in, but then the "dirty" dancing started and I just snorted with laughter at the ridiculousness of it. Her friends were whistling and screaming at her and it just encouraged her to do more. She actually stumbled and almost fell over trying to do some stripper move. It wouldn't have been very good for anyone to see me laughing at a singer so I slinked off to the hallway to laugh it up. I calmed down pretty quickly and made my way back up to the side of the stage just as the song was ending.

"Great job Lauren. You made Christina proud baby." I gave her thumbs up as she stumbled back to her friends. "Next up is Emmett. Come on up you sexy man. Show us what ya got!"

He popped up from the table and in a matter of seconds he was standing in front of me.

"I'm ready for my fifteen minutes woman. Hand over the mic and let me show you how it's done."

I laughed and handed him the mic. Emmett was up on the stage bouncing on his feet, no doubt psyching himself up. I've seen people use different kinds of exercises to get ready to sing, this usually meant they were nervous and Emmett was most definitely nervous.

I start the music and all nervousness seems to just leave Emmett and he belts out the song.

_Now, when I was just a little boy,  
Standin' to my Daddy's knee,  
My poppa said, "Son, don't let the man get you  
Do what he done to me."  
'Cause he'll get you,  
'Cause he'll get you now, now.  
And I can remember the fourth of July,  
Runnin' through the backwood, bare.  
And I can still hear my old hound dog barkin',  
Chasin' down a hoodoo there.  
Chasin' down a hoodoo there._

Born on the Bayou;  
Born on the Bayou;  
Born on the Bayou.

Wish I was back on the Bayou.  
Rollin' with some Cajun Queen.  
Wishin' I were a fast freight train,  
Just a chooglin' on down to New Orleans.

Born on the Bayou;  
Born on the Bayou;  
Born on the Bayou.

_Do it, do it, do it, do it. Oh, Lord.  
Oh get back boy._

I can remember the fourth of July,  
Runnin' through the backwood bare.  
And I can still hear my old hound dog barkin',  
Chasin' down a hoodoo there.  
Chasin' down a hoodoo there.

Born on the Bayou;  
Born on the Bayou;  
Born on the Bayou.

All right! Do, do, do, do.  
Mmmmmmm, oh.

I clapped and whooed with everyone else in the bar. Emmett rocked that song, there was no denying it. He put the mic down on the stool and instantly picked me up in his big strong arms and swung me around.

"Emmett, I can't breathe." I choked out.

"Oh, sorry." He said as he gently put me back down on my feet. "That was fucking awesome Bell. I'm doing that again for sure."

"Glad I could help you pop your cherry Emmett." I giggled at his wide eyes as the words registered.

"How did you know?"

"Easy, you were rocking back and forth on your feet before the song started. Then the look of utter excitement after you rocked that song. It was a dead giveaway." I told him. It was true; once a virgin was done with their first song they got this look of accomplishment and pride on their face. Well that and they had to be drunk of their asses to get up there in the first place.

"I'll be back babe!" Emmett walked off to his table and looked at the book some more. I noticed Edward wasn't there anymore and neither was the busty blonde bimbo. Guess he left with the skank. I sighed in defeat. Back to work.

"Jasper, come on down!" I said in my best Bob Barker impersonation.

Jasper made his way up to the stage. I reached out to him with the mic to hand to him, but instead of just taking it from my hand he ran his hand down from my shoulder all the way down to the microphone in my hand. It left a trail of goosebumps in his wake. It was an odd sensation to say the least. He was a good looking guy and if it hadn't been for the fact that I've been hopelessly swooning over Edward for the past 2 months I might actually give this guy a shot. Hell maybe I should. It's not like Edward is at all interested in me anyway.

With that thought I blushed and batted my eyes at him. He took the mic and before he was on the stage I gave him a slap on the ass and muttered a "Go get'm tiger" for encouragement.

The song started and I was taken aback by just how good Jasper actually sounded. He quite literally sounded like he could head up Lynyrd Skynyrd himself if he wanted and don't even get me started on the way he just owned that stage. It was a thing of pure beauty. He had the entire bar on their feet, lighters in hand and singing along with him. Girls were lining the edge of the dinky little stage gawking up at him like he was to be their last meal.

Before I knew what was happening Jasper had his arm around my waist, hand on my hip with the microphone between us and we were both singing the song together. I noticed the girls glaring at me, no doubt thinking that I snatched their prize before they even got a chance at it.

We finished the song to a standing ovation. Nothing but loud cheers and clapping could be heard in the entire bar. Jasper pulled me closer to him and hugged by body tightly to his, then his lips were on mine. Without thinking I moved my lips and tongue against his. He tasted like spicy buffalo sauce and beer with a hint of man. He tasted fantastic.

I broke free from Jasper's lips and backed away with the mic in my hand.

"Give Jasper a hand everyone. Wasn't he fantastic? WOW!" I realize that I'm babbling like a moron. Wow indeed. I looked out to the crowd and to my surprise there was Edward looking like he was ready for a fight and that look was aimed straight at Jasper. I wonder what his problem is. Maybe he's just pissed because his friend out performed him on his turf. Yeah that had to be it. Ego maniac.

"Thanks for that darlin'." Jasper squeezed my hand and headed back to his table.

I went back to work and the night passed quickly and smoothly. Emmett came back up and sang some Achy Breaky Heart and I have to say I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Jessica, the bride-to-be, and her friend Lauren came up and did a goofy rendition of _I kissed a girl_ by Katy Perry. Everyone was in hysterics because of their antics on stage. They were definitely drunk off their asses at that point.

2 am finally rolled around and it was time to call it quits. I said a goodnight to everyone and started packing up the equipment. Jasper came by to say good night and asked for my number. I gave it to him because he was a good guy from what I could tell. He gave me a kiss on my cheek and said he'd call me tomorrow.

"So do I even get a shot Bella?" My head shot up and noticed Emmett standing there looking at me expectantly.

"What?" I was confused.

"You kissed Jazz, where's my kiss?" He paused for a moment before speaking again. "You know Bella, everyone says I'm a way better kisser than Jasper."

I smiled at him. "Everyone huh?"

"Shit. I didn't mean it that way. I'm not some manwhore or anything." He shifted nervously on his feet before continuing. "Okay, here it is. I like you Bella. You're hot as hell and you're funny and damn girl you've got a set of pipes on you. I was just hoping that maybe I could take you out for coffee or something. Then that damn Jasper had to go kiss you and fuck up my game."

"You're game?"

"You know, my mojo. I was going to ask you out at the end of the night, but the bastard beat me to it."

Emmett was a good guy too, I love his dimples. I guess it couldn't hurt to go out for coffee with him.

"Okay." I said. His head popped up. He was staring rather intently at his shoes before I spoke.

"Okay? You'll go out for coffee with me?"

"Sure. Here, hand me your phone." He placed his phone in my hand and I programmed my number in. "Give me a call tomorrow and we can set something up." I gave him a small kiss on the cheek before I went off to finish packing up.

"Sounds good. Night Bella." He walked off with a little spring in his step and I had to shake my head and laugh. He really was cute.

Finally at my car I was loading it up with all the equipment when I was suddenly grabbed at the waist, turned and kissed rather thoroughly. One hand was pulling firmly into him while his other hand was at the back of my head holding, tilting me to deepen the kiss. I kept my eyes closed taking everything in. I knew who this was without looking at him. His touch ignited a fire within me, his scent was intoxicating. This kiss was everything I ever dreamed it to be and more.

He pulled away and with one last kiss behind my ear he whispered, "You can have me" before I felt him walk away. I was too afraid to see his retreating form to open my eyes. I stood there savoring his taste and letting his words sink in for a few moments before collecting myself. I can have him? He knew the song I sang tonight was for him, that much was clear. But what did that mean, I could have him?

I let out a long sigh and got into my car. It was late and I needed to get home. I knew I'd be dreaming about him tonight, just like I did every other night, except this time I had something real to bring into the dream.

**So tell me what you think. Leave a review. Would you like to see this story continue?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: SM owns Twilight and its characters. Songs from the last chapter were Secret by Maroon 5, If I Can't Have You by Kelly Clarkson and Born on the Bayou by CCR.**

My phone woke me from my dream of Edward's hands on me. We were just getting to the good part too. His lips were on my neck and his hands, oh god, his hands. They were everywhere and just starting to unbutton my shirt. Whoever is calling better have a damn good reason to be interrupting this magnificent dream. I groaned and rolled over to grab my phone and uttered a groggy hello.

"Bella?" The voice said. Who were you expecting to answer when you called my phone dipshit?

"Yeah. Who's this?" I was trying really hard not to sound annoyed, but I don't think I pulled it off. I wanted desperately to get back to my dream.

"Um, it's Emmett. Sorry did I wake you? I thought one in the afternoon would be a safe time to call. Sorry." He chuckled a little. Now how could anyone be mad at that?

"It's alright. Had a rough night last night and didn't get much sleep. So what's up Emmett?" I tried to make my voice as cheery as possible.

"Well I was hoping that I could maybe see you tomorrow. I know you have the karaoke thing in the evening, but I thought we might grab some coffee."

"That sounds great Emmett. I was going to go to the bookstore in the morning so I could meet you at Cherry Street Coffee if you want?"

"Yeah, that sounds great. How about 11, does that work?"

"That's perfect. I look forward to it Emmett."

"Me too Bella. See you tomorrow."

"Bye." My inner 16 year old wanted to squeal. Emmett was really cute and fun from what I'd seen at the bar last night. I had a feeling that any time I spent with him would be a good time.

I got up and went into the bathroom to do my usual morning routine even though it was the middle of the day. I had a full day ahead of me with only a few hours left in it.

Once I was dressed and relatively ready for human consumption I made my list for the grocery store then sorted my laundry. I decided that I would do my shopping first since I didn't like being at the grocery store late at night. You never know what kinds of weirdo's were hanging around the grocery store late at night. I know I sound paranoid, blame it on my Police Chief of a father. He always made sure to instill a fear of "weirdo's in the big city" in me since I was a little girl. He hates that I moved here, said that the crime rate here was unacceptable for any daughter of his, to which I informed him that the crime in Phoenix surpassed anything in Seattle and he never worried about mom and I being there all by ourselves. He usually harrumphed at me but then the discussion was over.

The grocery store was relatively empty this afternoon as I shopped. I was in the produce section picking out some tomatoes when someone came up behind me and grabbed a vine to inspect.

"Hello Bella." A male voice said behind me. I turned quickly to see who was talking and was pleasantly surprised to see Jasper standing there.

"Oh hey Jasper. How are you?"

"I'm good, better now. Do you live in the area? I've never seen you here before." He asked.

"Oh yeah. I usually come early in the mornings during the week, but I overslept today. How about you? You must live close by." Happy with the tomatoes I had in my hand I placed them in a bag and put them into my cart.

"Yep, right around the corner actually." He rubbed the back of his neck and seemed a bit nervous. "So, uh. I talked to Emmett and he says you guys are meeting for coffee tomorrow morning." The nervousness made complete sense now. I knew from the way he acted last night, with the kissing and all that he might be interested in me and if he spoke to Emmett than he probably thought I was some slut who kissed just anyone, which is not the case at all. I'm actually attracted to Jasper and would like nothing more than to kiss him again. And again. And again.

"Oh, yeah. He called this afternoon actually and asked me to meet him. He seems like he's a lot of fun." I was trying to make it seem like it wasn't that big a deal, because it really wasn't.

"He is. You'll probably never stop laughing." He shifted nervously. What is with this guy? Why is he so nervous? "So, is this a date then?" He must have read my mind because I wasn't sure if this coffee thing with Emmett was a date or not.

"I don't think running into you in the produce section actually qualifies as a date Jasper." I teased, hoping to break him out of his nervousness. He laughed and my plan seemed to work.

"I know that Bella. I was talking about this coffee thing with Emmett. Is that a date?"

"I know what you meant and no, I wouldn't call it a date. It's just…well…it's just coffee." I told him honestly. It's not like Emmett actually used the word date when he asked me and we're meeting there after I ran some errands.

He got a huge smile on his face as the words came out of my mouth and he looked…relieved. He asked for my number last night so what he said next shouldn't have surprised me.

"Bella, I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go out to dinner with me on Friday." He was nervous again waiting for my response. He was just too damn cute.

"What, like a date?" I asked coyly.

"Yeah, exactly like a date. What do ya say Bella?"

"That sounds nice Jasper. I would love to go on a date with you.

"Great. Fantasitic. Perfect. Okay! I'll pick you up at 8 then?"

"Great. Fantasitic. Perfect. Okay!" I teased him by using his own words and he smiles even wider.

"You're a funny, funny girl Bella. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then." He backs up, almost running into the bananas.

"Don't you need my address?" I ask him. He stops, but then I realize what he said about tomorrow. Isn't tomorrow Thursday? "Wait, tomorrow? Tomorrow is Thursday, not Friday Jasper."

He laughs and comes back over to me. "Oh, yeah, an address would probably be helpful. And we're coming to the bar again tomorrow, unless you don't want us to."

"No, no that's fine. I love hearing you guys sing and it makes my job easier." I grab a piece of paper out of my bag and write down my address for him, then place it in his hand. "I'll see you tomorrow Jasper."

Jasper never takes his eyes off of me as he backs away again and again almost runs into the bananas. He waves and I am left to finish my shopping on my own.

"Why on earth did I get so much shit?" I ask myself on my second trip from the car to the apartment with my groceries. I still have at least one more trip to make, oh well, this can be my workout for the day I guess.

"Well hello there pretty lady." Jacob's voice came from behind me. I screamed and almost dropped my groceries.

"Holy hell Jacob, you scared the shit out of me." He just laughs at me, asshole.

"Sorry B. Didn't mean to scare you. Do you need some help with that stuff?" He asks.

"Actually, yeah, there are a few more things in my car if you don't mind." Oh thank God. I really didn't want to have to haul more shit up these stairs.

"No problem. It's the least I can do for scaring you so badly." He turned and walked out of the building and to my car outside. God bless Jacob Black. He likes to scare me shitless most days, but he's a great guy. Hot too! If it weren't for the fact that I am hopelessly attracted to Edward (_A manwhore who doesn't know you exist), _shut up!, and the fact that Jacob is gay as well as attached to Paul (another hottie) I would be all over that.

Jacob and Paul live one floor below me, they moved in about 6 months after I did and after an unfortunate accident where I tripped over one of their boxes just outside their door and sprained my ankle we've been the best of friends ever since.

In the kitchen I'm putting away the groceries in the bags that I have already brought in and Jacob comes in with the rest. "Thanks Jacob. You can just put it right there on the floor." I continue putting away the food, but I can feel his eyes on me. "What Jacob?"

"Oh nothing. You just seem different today. What's going on B?" Damn him for being observant.

"There's nothing going on. I don't know what you're talking about." That's right, act dumb. That always works. YEAH RIGHT!

"I'm not buying it B. You know you can't lie for shit." He comes closer to me, invading my personal space. "You're going to tell me eventually. We can either do this the easy way or the hard way B. Which is it going to be?"

"Seriously Jake, I have no idea what you're talking about. I really need to put this stuff away." I tell him.

"Okay, don't say I didn't warn you." With that his hands are tickling me without abandon and I am writhing around trying to get out of his grip.

"Jacob…STOP! Oh my God! JACOB! OKAY! Okay." He finally halts his assault on me and I catch my breath.

"Good, now spill!"

"Alright, well I met a couple of guys at the bar last night and I'm meeting one of them for coffee tomorrow. I ran into the other one at the store and we're going out for dinner on Friday."

"You hussy! Dating two guys at the same time. I didn't know you had it in you B. Good for you." Jacob pats me on the back, but it's so hard that I almost fall forward. Thankfully I catch myself on the counter. "It's about damn time you got back on the horse woman. It's been too long."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't get too excited there Jake. It's just coffee and dinner. I'm not really sure about it though. They are like best friends or something."

"Do they know that you are going out with the other?" Jacob asks, he takes a grape from the bag and pops it in his mouth.

"Yeah they do, but its weird isn't it? I mean dating best friends; it's almost like dating brothers." I chew on my bottom lip nervously waiting for his answer. Jacob is always the friend who gives it to me straight, so I know that if he thinks there is something wrong with this then he'd be the one to tell me.

"I can see how you're weirded out B, but as long as they both know what's going on ahead of time I think you're cool. My only advice would be to pick one as soon as you can. This kind of shit ruins friendships." I nod in understanding. The last thing I want to do is ruin their friendship.

"Thanks Jake." He gives me a hug and kisses the top of my head. He's so damn tall it's all he can reach of me without either picking me up or bending down pretty far.

"What's going on in here?" We turn and see Paul staring at us with a big smile on his face.

"Group hug." I tell him. He of course is all in for a group hug and he envelops both of us in his arms and I feel like one of those stress balls that look like the top is going to pop off because it's being squeezed too hard. "Guys! I can't breathe." They release me and I gasp for air.

"Sorry B." They both say at the same time. They're so cute there's no way to stay mad too long, no matter what they do.

"So what's going on in here? Jake are you stealing all of B's food again?" Paul asks spying the groceries on the counter and the half eaten grapes on the counter.

"What? NO! I was helping her putting stuff away."

"Yeah, I can see you're helping her put it away. Too bad it's being put away into your stomach." I laugh at their banter. They are like an old married couple. I wish I could have that someday, but I probably never will. _He_ messed all that up for me. I doubt that I'll ever have a normal relationship after what he did to me.

Fucking prick.

"Jacob we have to get going. We're going to be late meeting Jared and his new "friend" for dinner if we don't get out of here soon and you aren't even dressed mister. Get that cute ass moving." He slaps his ass and winks at me. Again I find myself in a fit of giggles. I really do love these two.

"Sure, sure. I'm going; you don't need to get violent Paul." He rubs his ass and looks back at me and waves.

"See ya Jake. Have a good night." I'm still putting shit away, seriously why did I get so fucking much? You would think that four people live here, not one.

"You okay sweet pea?" Paul asks as he wraps his arm around my shoulders.

"Yeah, I'm good. I have a date tomorrow and another one on Friday."

"Wow, that's awesome B. This guy must be something special to get to spend time with you two nights in a row."

I lower my head, I'm starting to feel less and less okay with going out with both of these guys. If I'm being honest I am more physically attracted to Jasper. He's tall and not bulky, just like I like. The shaggy blond hair and blue eyes are beautiful and that southern drawl that I've heard come out once or twice is pretty damn hot too. Emmett is cute, don't get me wrong, but he's just so…big. I do love those dimples though and let's face it; the guy has an ass you could bounce quarters off of. Jasper said he was funny too and if there is one thing I need right now, it's funny.

"What's that look?" He asks.

"Well, it's kind of." Paul isn't like Jacob. He has made it very clear that he doesn't think it's morally right to date multiple people at the same time.

"You can tell me sweet pea. What's going on in that pretty little head of yours?"

"It's two different guys." He looks confused so I need to make it a little clearer for him. "Tomorrow's coffee date is with a guy named Emmett and Friday is with a guy named Jasper. Oh and their best friends." Paul is wearing that same look of confusion and I'm not sure what to do at this point.

"HEY Bell, you in here?" My neighbor Tanya calls from the front door. Maybe I need to start locking the door, since my friends seem to just waltz in whenever they please. What if I was entertaining a guy in here? Does nobody knock?

"In here Tay" I could hear her footsteps as she made her way into the kitchen.

"Hey I was hoping I could convince you…" She takes a look at Paul and his confused face that apparently is frozen in place and turns back to me. "What's with him?"

"Oh I told him that I have two dates this week with two different guys and he just kind of stayed like that." I shrug my shoulders like it's no big deal and finally finish putting the groceries away.

"Okay then! So listen, Demetri gave me some extra spending money today to go, and I quote, "buy myself something nice", which as you know means…"

"Buy sexy lingerie" We both say at the same time. This happens about every other month or so. Demetri, Tanya's husband, gets tired of the lingerie she has and makes her buy new stuff. Personally I think that all her old stuff is torn to shreds and she just needs to get new stuff to replace the ones that have been destroyed. Yeah, they have a very…_passionate_ sex life. I've actually heard them going at it a few times and they live upstairs at the other end of the building from me. YEAH! I know.

"Can't tonight babe. My creative juices are flowing and I need to get this song that's been in my head down before it disappears." I look at Paul and he's still standing there with the same expression on his face. I'm starting to get a little worried. What I told him wasn't _that_ bad, was it?

"Bell, when's the last time you had any of your other juices flowing? Trust me, if you have two hot dates this week, you're going to want to wear something sexy underneath those clothes instead of those God awful granny panties you are usually sporting."

"I do NOT wear granny panties. Just because I don't wear the crotch less shit you do doesn't make my stuff granny panties." I know she's just trying to get a rise out of me, she always does this. It's how she gets her way.

"Bell! Come on. _Please_?" Great, now she's batting her eyes at me. There isn't a way to win this. Maybe if I go for a little bit I'll still have time to sit down and write.

"Fine, but I don't want to be out too long. I really need to get this song down." I tell her as I walk into my room to change. Fuck I need to do laundry too. Oh well, I guess I'll be up all night. Not like I haven't done that before.

"What about him?" She asks, gesturing over to Paul.

"I don't know. Slap him or something. Doesn't that usually work in the movies?" I hear a resounding slap come from the kitchen and I laugh.

"What the hell Tay? What did you hit me for?" Paul shrieks. Yep, I said it, he shrieks. He's definitely the woman in the relationship.

"You were comatose Paulie. It was Bella's idea." I hurry to get dressed because I know those two are going to storm in here any minute and I don't need them seeing me in my bra and panties, cause damnit, Tay is right, I'm wearing granny panties. Hey don't judge, it's laundry day.

I walk out and Paul is rubbing his cheek. I can see a distinct hand print where he's rubbing and I hold in the laugh.

"Don't you dare laugh Bella." Shit he called me Bella, he never calls me Bella. "Now, tell me what the hell you are thinking dating two boys at the same time. And best friends no less. Have I taught you nothing?" He's practically yelling at me like I'm a child.

"Paulie give the girl a break. Her love muffin needs some special attention. If she wants to date two boys at a time then let her." Tanya is currently filling my purse with my essentials so we can leave and Paul is just glaring at her.

I see his point though; I shouldn't be dating two guys at the same time. I'm leery about it too, but it's just coffee with Emmett, coffee isn't really a date, right? RIGHT! And they both know that the other is taking me out, so it's not a secret or anything. I could just see how it goes, it's not like I am going to fall in love with both of them. They are to completely different guys; all you have to do is look at them to see that.

One other thing that I don't dare tell my best friends is that neither of them are Edward, his best friends yes, but they aren't him. He's my dream man, with the exception of all the women he takes home.

_You've never even had a real conversation with the man, how can you possibly think that he's your dream man? Wake the fuck up Bella!_

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you about this sweet pea. Someone always gets hurt in these situations." I noticed Tay give him a look that said "shut the fuck up" out of the corner of my eye, he noticed. "That's all I'm going to say. Have a good time. I need to check on Jakey and get going. We are already late for our dinner plans. See ya Tay. B, have a good evening."

"By Paul." Looking over at Tanya it's apparent that she's waiting on me. Her foot is tapping so I know that's my cue to get my ass moving. "Let's go Tay."

"T, that is fucking HOT! Demetri is going to cream his pants when he sees you." Tanya has come out of the dressing room wearing this almost entirely see through bra and panty set. The matching garter is just sexy as hell and I can only wish that I could pull something like that off. Tanya is just gorgeous with her long strawberry blond hair, blue eyes, long slender legs and naturally large breasts. She could seriously be a Victoria's Secret model if she wanted to. Add a killer personality to all that and she's every man's wet dream.

There is only one other woman I've met that could compete with her and that's my college roommate and one of my best friends Rosalie Hale. I haven't seen her in a while though. That reminds me that I need to call her and Alice, my other nest friend. With Rose in New York working in engineering and breaking hearts all over the big apple I hardly get to talk to her anymore. Alice is in San Diego taking the fashion world by storm. She says she's too busy for men, but I know she's lonely there and I wish my girls would just move back home already. I miss them.

"Bell, what do you think about this one?" Tanya asks as she comes out in another phenomenal set. It's a beautiful dark purple color. Ruffles are all over the cups of the bra as well as the front and back of the panties. The set is adorable, but not something she usually buys. Demetri tends to like things a little more risqué.

"It's adorable Tay, but it's not really something I think Demetri would like. You should get it though." I tell her honestly. She's scrutinizing herself in the mirror and I can tell by the look on her face that she isn't going to get it just because of her husband.

"I think you should buy it Bell. This would look so cute on you." She walks back into the dressing room and a couple of minutes later she's throwing the set at me. "Try it on, and I wanna see Bell. No trying it on and then taking it right off."

"Tay I have no one to wear this stuff for. It would just sit in my dresser and collect dust, much like my vagina does." We both laugh, but I know I'm not getting out of trying this on.

"Just try it on. You have two dates this week, you do so have someone to wear it for, so put the damn set on and let me see you shake your cute little ass in it." Figuring I might as well just do as she asks I schlepped myself into one of the free dressing rooms and took off my clothes. I began muttering incoherent babble, mostly how much I hated Tay for making me do this and the thought of spending…wait, how much is this…I grabbed the tag and my eyes almost popped out of head.

"Tay, this is $400. I cannot afford $400 for two pieces of lace."

"Can it Bell and just try it on. Just because you try it on doesn't mean you have to buy it for fucks sake."

I guess it couldn't hurt to try on the scraps of material. I'd show her that it wasn't me and then we could move on. I slipped on the panties then the bra and took a look in the mirror. Huh, not half bad. The bra actually makes my breasts look firmer and bigger, giving them a nice lift. My ass didn't look too bad in the panties either.

"Come out Swan, I know it doesn't take this long to put on a bra and panties." Tanya was banging on the door at this point and I was certain that at any moment she was either going to break the door down or just climb under the door. How embarrassing.

"Okay, okay. Geez woman." I stepped out and she gasped. I wasn't sure if it was a good gasp or a bad gasp so I gave her a questioning look.

"Holy shit Bella, you looking fucking hot. You HAVE to buy that." She grabbed my elbow and spun me a around to get the full effect, then she whistled at me. Yeah, she fucking whistled. Weirdo!

"Tay, I can't buy this. In case you've forgotten I host karaoke night at the local bar two nights a week."

"AND sing on occasion. You can afford it and trust me when I say if you wear this on your dates those boys aren't going to know what hit 'em." I rolled my eyes. I wrote my own songs, sure, but singing them in front of people has never been my strong suit. Tanya and Demetri own a Jazz lounge downtown and I have, on a couple of occasions been forced to sing there when one of their regulars call in sick, it's not like I can count on that money and hosting karaoke doesn't exactly pay too much. If it weren't for the trust fund I got from Granny Swan I don't know how I would even pay my bills.

"Tay I cannot afford this, its $400. I'm serious. As much as I love it I just can't." I went back into the dressing room and put on my own clothes. I could hear Tay grumbling, but couldn't make out what she was saying.

"Ready?" She asked when I came back out of the dressing room.

"Really? You're done? I thought we'd be here for at least another hour." I was shocked to say the least. She usually spent hours here and I would have to drag her ass out kicking and screaming.

"Yeah, I'm done. I got a few really hot pieces. I'm hungry now though, so let's go grab a bite at that little café near the water. My treat." I wasn't going to argue over a free lunch.

"Sounds good, let's go." I started walking to the car but noticed she wasn't behind me like I thought, I turned and she was in the same spot I left her in, her mouth agape and eyes wide like she just saw Brad Pitt walking down the street. "Tay, what are you doing? Come on."

"Hold on, I need a moment." She said her hand to her chest.

"What's wrong? Are you alright?" I asked. I was actually getting a bit concerned.

"Yeah, I just…geez…I must be going crazy or something."

"Why, what happened? Talk to me Tanya." I urged.

"I think I heard my best friend actually agree to me buying her lunch without an argument. I must be hearing things though, because that NEVER happens."

"Ha ha, very funny. I could tell by the look of determination on your face not to argue and I'm starving." I told her honestly. Plus I could tell by the way she was fidgeting slightly that she wanted a favor and favors for Tanya are never ever pretty for me.

We got in the car and she turned on this crazy 80's radio station. We knew every song on the ride to the café and were singing, LOUDLY! With the top down on Tanya's BMW it was a little embarrassing with everyone staring at us like we were crazy people, but I didn't care, we were having a great time.

We were at the café and had already placed out orders. I was having a chicken Caesar salad and Tay ordered her usual Panini. How she ate that shit and stayed thin I have no idea. Yet another thing to be jealous over.

"So I have a favor to ask you." Tanya tentatively took a sip of her water, never taking her eyes off of me.

"I knew it! What do you want?"

"Well, one of the guys that have a regular set at the club is out of town this weekend and I can't find anyone to cover for him, so I was hoping…" She stopped herself and gave me the puppy dog eyes.

"No, absolutely not!"

"But Bellllaaaa." She whined. More puppy dog eyes and now the bottom lip was making an appearance. Shit. "Pleeeeaaassee? It's just two shows and the pay is really good."

"I can't Tay. I'm sorry, I just…I can't do it." To be honest, there is no real reason why I can't do, just that I don't want to. All those people listening to me singing my own words, it's terrifying.

"Bella, look at me." I lifted my eyes to look at her and saw pride shining from her eyes. "You are an amazing singer and songwriter. You CAN do this. I believe in you and Demetri practically begged me to ask you to fill in for Reggie. Please. Please do this for me and for yourself."

"I don't know Tay."

"Look, I know you're scared, but you're always scared right before you go up and the last couple of times you did it you just, I don't want to say soared because that's just lame, but that's what you did. You could see it on your face, the high, the energy from the crowd. You were eating it up. Plus, it's really no different than singing at karaoke night; it's just your own stuff. You only have to do two, three songs tops."

I thought about it for a minute, our food had come and I was eating and thinking, making her sweat. I knew I was going to do it after what she said, but the least I could do was torture her for a little bit.

"Okay, fine. 3 songs tops and I'm doing Saturday and Sunday nights only. Friday is off limits, I have a date with Jasper."

"Yay." She said and clapped. She was practically bouncing out of her seat. "I knew you were going to do it. You had to make me sweat though didn't you?" I shrugged and laughed at her. "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, Demetri's brother Felix is coming into town next Saturday."

"So the _real_ reason you're buttering me up comes out." She's always trying to set me up with guys she knows. I've heard a lot about Felix over the last 6 months. He's tall, great build, super sweet and most importantly…single. He also lives in New Orleans, so he's geographically undesirable. Tanya's response is always that he'd be a good lay and I could just leave it at that. My hoohah apparently needs some male attention according to her, and Alice…and Rosalie.

"Oh, that reminds me. Here." She shoved a bag at me from the lingerie store we were just at and I already knew what was in it without looking. I just stared at her, then at the bag, then her, then at the bag. "Just open it."

I opened it and sure enough it was the purple ruffled scraps of material I tried on. "Tay, you didn't need to do this." I'm not very good at accepting gifts, especially ones that cost this much money and she knows it, but she just waved me off like it was nothing.

"Now you have to go out with Felix." A smug smile spread across her face.

"So what, you're pimping me out now? Give me expensive lingerie to wear out with your brother-in-law? That's presumptuous." Tanya looks mildly offended until I start laughing, then she starts laughing with me.

"Just go out with him okay? He's a nice guy. I think you'll like him."

"No, Tanya. I'm putting my foot down on this one. I already have two dates this week and Felix lives in New Orleans. He's geographically undesirable. I've told you this I don't know how many times. I'm not going out with him. Just…NO!"

"You're no fun Bell." She finally relented and the rest of the afternoon went by really fast. I got back to the apartment and started my laundry and got to work on the new song. It was coming along really good, but I was having a hard time trying to figure out a word that rhymed with Edward. Yes I am writing a song about Edward. I know, it's pathetic, but the man is just so beautiful and it's not like he's ever going to hear it anyway. Maybe I can try it out at the club on Saturday.

"What the hell am I thinking? I can't put his name in there." I said out loud to myself. "UGH!"

I changed the name to something generic that way no-one would know that it's actually about anyone in particular. I don't know anyone by this name so it kind of works out perfect. I looked at the clock and saw that it was actually four in the morning, wow the evening really got away from me. At least my song and all my laundry are done. I slipped into bed and got some much needed sleep.

I ended up skipping the bookstore before coffee with Emmett. I slept in a little later than I expected, but that's alright. I can just go to the bookstore later. I didn't need the book right away, I just wanted to start reading this new series I had heard about. It looked really good and I couldn't wait to dig into it. I pulled up to the coffee shop and looked at my face in the mirror. Happy with girl staring back at me I grabbed my bag and got out of the car.

I spotted Emmett as soon as I walked in the door; it's kind of hard to miss him. He was seated in one of the back booths. He looked really handsome in his red polo shirt and khaki shorts. The smile and dimples were in full force when he saw me and I just had to smile back.

"Hey gorgeous." Emmett got out of the booth to meet me half way and gave me a big hug. It was nice. I had a feeling I was really going to like Emmett, even if we didn't make it as a couple I just knew we'd be great friends.

"Hey yourself handsome." I kissed his cheek as we pulled out of the hug.

"Shall we?" Emmett gestured to the growing line to order our coffees; I nodded and let him lead me to the line. "So what do you like Bella?"

"I love their vanilla lattes. They are sinful. What about you?" I had discovered them when I first came here. I was looking for something just as good as the ones back home, but could never find anything that could measure up. I tried so many different coffee places when I moved here I think I hit everything in a 10 mile radius. It's Seattle so of course there are a ton of coffee houses in the area. I finally found this one as soon as the latte slid down my throat I knew my search for the perfect vanilla latte was over.

"I like the cappuccinos personally. Would you like anything to eat? I'm fucking starving and could probably eat a god damn horse." The old lady in front of us turned and gave Emmett a dirty look and I think I snorted. What? It was funny.

"I could go for a scone or something Emmett." I finally responded after the old lady turned back around.

"Good, I didn't want to look like a pig on our first date. Although I guess you can't really call this a date since its just coffee. You know what that means don't you Bella?"

"I'm afraid to ask." Emmett laughed a booming laugh that had everyone in the coffee shop glaring at us. It's was mildly embarrassing, but I just decided to go with it.

"It means that if you don't find me to be stalkerish today you're going to have to let me take you out on a real date."

"Stalkerish, really Em?" I chuckled; he was rather charming in a little boy next door kind of way.

"What? That's a word." We made it up to the front and Emmett placed our order. The barista immediately got to work on our drinks; they probably wanted to get us out of their store as quickly as possible.

The coffee date with Emmett turned out to be really great. I was laughing my ass off the entire time. We had finished our second cups of coffee, but it was obvious neither of us wanted to leave yet.

"You want another latte Bella?" Emmett asked, gesturing to my now empty cup.

"Um, I think if I have another cup of coffee I am going to turn into the Tasmanian devil. Two is my limit I'm afraid." More than two cups of coffee and I turned into a jittery mess. Coherent words were also no longer an option after that either and I had to work tonight, not being able to speak or sing would not be good for me, especially with me working tonight.

Emmett laughed, drawing attention to us again. I had realized an hour ago that this is just how Emmett is and I was growing to love it. He was really fun, so his boisterous laugh didn't faze me anymore.

"Okay. I guess I should probably let you get home seeing as it's.." He checked the clock on his phone and his eyes widened. "Christ, it's four o'clock. I guess time really does fly when you're having fun."

"I guess it does. Thanks for this Em, I had a great time." I told him honestly. This was one of the best dates I've had in a long time and all we did was drink coffee and talk.

"Me too Bella. So when can I see you again?" He actually looked shy as he asked and I found it endearing.

"Well I'm busy this weekend, but how about next Friday?" I suggested.

"That works for me. Will you let me take you on a proper date now?" He asked.

"And what exactly is a proper date Em?"

"Well, let's see." His finger was tapping his chin in contemplation. "Dinner, maybe a play afterwards, and then we'll see where the evening takes us." He waggled his eyebrows then laughed and I knew he was kidding. Thank goodness, because I wasn't sure I was ready for that with him yet.

"That sounds good Emmett. Give me a call later in the week with details." I kissed him on his cheek and let him walk me out to my car.

"See you tonight Bella. I'll call you later." He grabbed me and pulled me into one of his Emmett hugs and I wrapped my arms around his waist. His hold relaxed slightly, I looked up at him and smiled. The look on his face told me that he wanted to kiss me. I figured I might as well; see if there was a spark.

Emmett's hands moved slowly from my hands, up my arms, to my shoulders and rested on my neck. His thumbs caressed my jaw; his eyes never left mine the entire time. The butterflies in my belly were going full force in anticipation.

"Can I kiss you Bella?" It was utterly adorable that he felt he had to ask. I nodded and his lips met mine. It was sweet and soft, something that was a contrast to all that was Emmett, well not all that was Emmett. He's pretty damn sweet. His tongue teased my bottom lip and I opened my mouth to taste him. He tasted like coffee and chocolate. It was divine. The kiss slowed and we parted.

"Wow. Bella, you're amazing." I could feel the blush rising up my chest all the way up to my forehead; I let my hair fall forward to hide my face. "I'll see you tonight at Eclipse Bella." With one last chaste kiss on the lips we parted. Emmett opened the door to my car for me. Once I was in he closed it behind me. I rolled the window down and thanked him again for a wonderful afternoon. He backed away from the car as I pulled away.

I wasn't sure what I was feeling at that moment. I liked Emmett, but I'm not sure I felt the spark. The kiss was undeniably amazing, but it didn't shoot sparks all the way from my head to my toes.

I drove back to my apartment just thinking, I was pulling into my parking space without even thinking. Deciding to stop over thinking things I resigned myself to let things go where they were going to go. I had my date with Jasper on Friday and I was going to see both of them and Edward in just a few hours.

I took a shower and got myself ready. I dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and a purple and white gauzey top. My hair was straight and make-up light. I never liked to overdo it when I was working, but I wanted to look cute even if it was just for work. Oh who was I kidding, I was dying for Edward to notice me. Even with dating two of his best friends all I could think of was him. What the hell is wrong with me? I have two perfectly good men vying for my attention and all I can think of is the manwhore with bronze hair and a crooked smile that makes my knees weak. I needed help; professional help.

**Thanks for reading, please review, I love hearing what you think. I hope you all liked this chapter. The next one is already in the works and should be out really soon. I'm loving writing this story so far.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Stephenie Meyer is a genius and I LOVE all things Twilight. How many of you saw Eclipse this week? I personally went to the midnight premiere and my GOD it was so good. If you have yet to see, go, go now. No wait, read and review this chapter first, then go see it. Best one yet. Okay, enough of my useless ramblings, get on with it already.**

EPOV

Thursday night, time for me to go to Eclipse, sing some shitty songs, drink some booze and flirt with some woman whose name I won't remember or even care about in the morning.

Em and Jazz called earlier to let me know they'd be coming with me again tonight. I gathered from the way they were talking that it had to do with a girl. Of course I wasn't going to tell them that the whole reason I went on Tuesdays and Thursdays is because of a girl. A certain mahogany haired girl with expressive brown eyes, a body to die for and the voice of an angel.

I had no chance with her, she saw me leaving with a different woman every time I was in there, there's no way she finds that attractive, but it's not like I had sex with all of them. There was no way for her to know that though.

Tuesday had been interesting to say the least. It was the first time in the three months that I had discovered the karaoke night at Eclipse and her that we had openly flirted with each other. She called me "big boy" and I decided to sing that song. To her, for her. There were probably other, more appropriate songs I could have sung to her, but I wanted her to know that I wanted her.

_Just like you want all those other women? She probably thought you were singing that song to that blonde bimbo that was all over you._

Like I said, probably not the most appropriate things to sing to her and yeah she probably thought I was just singing that to get laid, but I meant it, when I looked into her eyes and sung those lines I was being honest with her. More honest then I had been with any woman before.

_If you want to get her attention you need to sing something not so…sexually charged_. _Idiot!_

Tonight! Tonight I will truly sing to her. I just need to find the right song.

I arrived at the bar at 9:00, Jasper and Em were already seated at my booth looking over the book. There were three beers already at the table, thank God for that. I was going to need it if I was going to sing the right kind of song for Bella.

"Edwardo! Good to see you man!" Emmett got up to give me the manly one armed hug, back pat.

"Hey Em! Good to see you too. Jazz." I nodded at my best friend and took a seat. I have to admit that I am still feeling a little pissed at Jazz for the stunt he pulled on Tuesday with Bella. How could he have kissed her? She is mine, those lips are mine, the tongue, yep, you guessed it, MINE! We had a little chat yesterday about the situation and although I didn't openly admit to liking Bella he got the idea that she was off limits. At least I hoped that message came across loud and clear.

"Edward." Jasper responded curtly. Good, looks like the message was as clear as I'd hoped. He glanced over to the stage for a fraction of a second, had I been anyone else I wouldn't have noticed, but I was me and I did notice. I shot him a glare, letting him know that I was fully aware of what he had just been doing.

"Hey everyone. Welcome to karaoke night at Eclipse. I'm Bella, your host. How's everyone feeling tonight?" The bar erupted is whistles and clapping at her question. "Good, glad to hear it. Okay, so let me tell you how this works. There are books on each table as well as pencils and slips of paper. Take a look through the book, pick some songs, write them down with that handy little pencil and bring the slip on up here." She looked out to the crowd and locked eyes at our table, making sure to take the time to look at all three of us. She smiled at Emmett, he gave a slight wave, she blushed at Jasper, fucking prick, he winked at her and when her eyes fell on me she seemed almost shy. Being the cocky bastard that I am I blew her a kiss.

"Come on guys, let's get started. Who's coming up first?" Bella asked as she scanned the crowd.

"I ain't going up there without a few more beers in me." Emmett said and Jasper nodded emphatically in agreement. We were all still looking at the song list; I was looking for the perfect song, but wasn't having any luck finding anything that said what I wanted to say to her. The first singer of the night came up and it was awful. I couldn't even tell what she was supposed to be singing; when I looked up I noticed the singer was a guy. Huh, that's funny I could have sworn that was a woman singing.

The song finally came to an end, thank Christ. I didn't know how much more my ears could take of that shit.

"Next up is Greg." Greg sauntered up and was ogling my girl, I didn't like it. Our waitress came back with a pitcher of beer and some glasses.

"Um, we didn't order this." I said. Jasper and Emmett shrugged indicating they didn't order it either.

"Oh, this is compliments of our lovely host over there." She gestured toward Bella and we looked over to her and gave a nod of thanks. The waitress walked away and Emmett went back to the book. I found the perfect song; I wrote it down on the paper and waited for the other assholes to pick theirs so I could take them all up. I don't need Jasper getting any closer to Bella than necessary.

"You guys done? I'm gonna take this up so I'll take yours if you're ready." I offered, hoping they were done.

"Nah, go ahead. I haven't decided yet." Jasper said.

"Me either. Go on ahead man. I'll take mine up in a minute." Emmett was still looking at the book, apparently having trouble finding a song.

"Alright. Be back in a minute." I got up and went to the stage area where Bella was looking through the stack of requests that accumulated. "Bella."

"Holy shit." She screeched. She turned around so fast that she almost fell over; thankfully I have pretty impressive reflexes so I caught her before she fell. "Thanks." Her face turned a lovely shade of pink.

"Sorry to have scared you." I told her. I got her back up on her feet and smirked.

"It's alright; I should have been paying attention." She looked at the slip in my hand then back up to me. "What are we singing tonight?" I just handed her the slip, not taking my eyes away from her. She's so fucking beautiful. I want to kiss her so bad right now. "Nice! I can't wait to hear that velvety voice of yours sing this."

"Velvety?" I cocked my eyebrow at her.

"Yeah, it sounds like velvet or melted chocolate." I'm fairly certain I heard her moan a little and it went straight to my cock. _Down Boy!_

"Do you like chocolate Bella?" I asked her in a husky tone that I hoped she thought was sexy.

"Very much." She answered. The song ended and unfortunately Bella had to get back to work so our flirty banter came to an end.

Back at the table it looked like Jasper had chosen his song. He took a gulp of beer and went up to the stage. He talked to Bella for a few minutes before coming back.

"So what song did you choose Jazz?" I asked him. I poured more beer into each of our glasses and motioned for the waitress for a refill.

"Um, nothing special, just a Van Morrison song." Van Morrison, what Van Morrison song…oh wait! Holy shit! He wouldn't.

"Brown eyed girl?" I asked with a sneer. If he chose that song I was going to beat his ass.

"Yeah, I think that's the one." His eyes moved all over the bar, not making eye contact with me. "Em, what are you singing bro?" Good deflection. I'd let it go for now.

"I'm going to do some classic Stones tonight." Emmett always loved the classic rock, so this didn't surprise me in the least. "I'm so gonna rock that shit!" He got up and went to hand in his slip.

"Let's see who's next. Ah Jessica, the bride-to-be from Tuesday. Come on up Jessica." Everyone clapped as Jessica walked up to the stage. Bella said something to her and they hugged briefly. It looked like they were friends.

The song started, it was Britney Spears. I'm not a fan, but the girl owned that song. She actually got a standing ovation when she was done and took a bow before exiting the stage.

"Edward! You're turn baby!" Baby? This was new. I'd take it though. I gave a cocky smirk to Jazz as I got out of my seat.

"So I go from Big Boy to Baby in the span of two days? I think I like Big Boy better Bella." Bella giggled when I stroked her hand, grabbing the mic from her. A glance back at Bella told me that I had her full attention. She had yet to start the song so I raised an eyebrow at her. That seemed to have brought her back down to earth and the song started.

_I'm alone  
Yeah, I don't know if I can face the night  
I'm in tears and the cryin' that I do is for you  
I want your love - Let's break the walls between us  
Don't make it tough - I'll put away my pride  
Enough's enough I've suffered and I've seen the light_

I made sure my eyes were trained on Bella for the duration of the song.

_Baby  
You're my angel  
Come and save me tonight  
You're my angel  
Come and make it all right_

Don't know what I'm gonna do  
About this feeling inside  
Yes it's true - Loneliness took me for a ride  
Without your love - I'm nothing but a beggar  
Without your love - a dog without a bone  
What can I do I'm sleeping in this bed alone

Baby  
You're my angel  
Come and save me tonight  
You're my angel  
Come and make it all right  
Come and save me tonight

You're the reason I live  
You're the reason I die  
You're the reason I give  
When I break down and cry  
Don't need no reason why

Baby , Baby  
Baby  
You're my angel  
Come and save me tonight  
You're my angel  
Come and make it all right

You're my angel  
Come and save me tonight  
you're my angel  
Come and take me allright  
Come and save me tonight,  
Come and save me tonight,  
Come and save me tonight,  
Come and save me tonight,  
Come and save me tonight

Bella's eyes stayed on me for the entire song, she never once looked away. I laid it all out there for her with that song. I didn't hear any of the clapping or the hollers in the bar, all I saw was Bella.

BPOV

I can't believe that just happened. I mean Edward sang that song, that beautiful song and he never once took his eyes off of me. In karaoke you sing for the crowd no matter what and Edward had always done that, but not tonight. I couldn't help but think that song was meant for me.

He dropped the mic next to me then stood stone still right in front of me. His hand grabbed mine, I just stared at our connected hands and I felt it, that spark, the current running through my entire body just from a simple touch. This was what was missing earlier when I kissed Emmett.

I had to pull myself together and fast. His song ended a while ago and here I am just standing here staring at our hands like an idiot.

The mic was somehow in my hand now so I called the next person up. Tony, he was singing Home by Michale Buble.

"Bella." My name fell from his lips almost like a prayer, but I knew that I was just his latest conquest and as much as I wanted this man I had to take a step back. I wanted more than just a one night stand. I deserved to be happy after everything I've been through, I just didn't know if it was possible for me anymore. Finding someone I could trust my heart with has been nothing short of impossible. After a few recent sessions with my therapist I realized that I needed to at least try to open up to someone, it's been 5 years, but there is no way I was going to be able to do that with someone like Edward, as much as I may want him, I just couldn't risk it.

"I need to get back to work. You sang beautifully as always Edward." I tried to pull my hand back but his grip was firm and unrelenting.

"I need to talk to you Bella. Please." He sounded so sincere, but I had to think that's how he sounded to all of his girls. This is how he got them hook line and sinker. I wasn't going to allow myself to go down that road. This is how it had all started with Jamie and after what he did…God I don't even want to think about it.

"Later Edward. I really need to get back to work. The song is almost over." I tried to give him a reassuring smile, he looked in my eyes staring hard, looking for something. What I had no idea, but he seemed happy with whatever he found and let go of my hand.

"Okay Bella. Later. Promise me?" He was so unsure of himself; it wasn't something I normally saw with him.

"Yeah." I agreed. I had no intention of talking to him alone later though, that would only lead to very hot, beautiful, but very BAD things. He gave me a single nod before going back to his table.

I let out a long shaky breath. I missed the tingle from his touch almost instantly. Tony finished his song and handed the mic back to me. It was time for me to do what I got paid for.

The entire night went smoothly. Edward didn't come back up to sing anything else. He also never took his eyes off me. I saw a few girls come up to him but he sent them all away which was shocking to say the least. Maybe he wasn't the manwhore I thought he was. No, he is, I've seen him leave here every night with some big breasted bimbo, just because he isn't doing it tonight doesn't mean anything.

When Jasper came up and sang "Brown Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison I was in awe of him. It was such a sweet gesture and I knew it was for me because when he came up he whispered in my ear that this was only for me. He didn't focus on me at all throughout the song like Edward did, but I was fine with that, he told me this was for me and that's all that mattered. If I'm being honest with myself though it didn't do the things that Edward's song did to me. I needed to stop with this train of thought. Edward is no good for me. Jasper was sweet and loyal and handsome. He is the kind of guy I should date.

When Emmett's song came up I laughed. He told me earlier in the day how he was a Rolling Stones fan and that his favorite song was Beast of Burden and sure enough that's what he sang. He was so good up there, dancing around and doing all of Mick Jagger's moves and the crowd just ate it up.

I got a text from Alice during the night, I was so happy to hear from my best friend. She said that she was coming into town in three weeks and wanted to crash at my place. I of course told her that I wouldn't let her stay anywhere else. Alice being Alice called and squealed at me that she was so excited to come home and see me. She said she wanted to come to karaoke night and show everyone how it's done. I laughed at my best friend, she was very talented at most things, but singing was not one of them. She sounded like someone trying to drown a cat, it wasn't pretty.

At the end of the night I thanked everyone for coming out then started to pack up. I felt eyes on me, but continued with cleaning up. Angela, the bartender and one of my good friends since college, picked up all the books, pencils and left over sheets of paper and brought them over to me along with a Diet Coke. I thanked her for her help and we talked a little bit about the other host that works the weekends. She said that Marcel wasn't that great with the customers and they were thinking about firing him. She also mentioned that I might be able to grab those shifts if I was interested in extra hours. I told her I'd have to think about it. The extra money would be nice and I do love hosting, but my weekends are reserved for me time.

_What exactly do you do on the weekends Bella? You sit around doing housework and maybe watch a movie or five while eating ice cream out of the carton. _

When the packing up was finally finished I felt someone behind me. I knew who it was before turning around. That same hum was there whenever he was around. I knew I wasn't going to be able to get away from talking to him if that's what he really wanted; he seemed to be a very determined person who always got what they wanted.

Thankfully Angela came over and helped me with my things, effectively getting me away from Edward. We had the car packed rather quickly and I left before he could find me to talk. I really didn't want to have to refuse him; in fact if he gave me those eyes I wasn't sure I'd be able to. I could not go down that path with him. It would break me if he just used me for sex and I never saw him again.

With nothing to do but think on the drive back home I couldn't keep the thoughts of that kiss from two nights ago out of my head. It was an amazing tingling, toe curling experience and I wasn't even sure at this point if it had actually happened or if my imagination was just running away with me. I mean it's not like my imagination has ever been that good before, but it had to be my imagination, it just had to be.

I pulled into my parking space just as my phone chimed that I had a text message. I turned off the car and grabbed the phone from my bag. I smiled when I saw it was from Jasper.

_**I can't wait to see you tomorrow Bella. – Jas**_

With the smile still plastered on my face I hit reply and typed out my response

_**I'm looking forward to it Jas. I was so happy to see you at the bar tonight. Sleep well and I'll see you tomorrow. – B**_

I gathered my things and got out of the car to finally get into my apartment and slip into bed. My bag hit the table in the hall when my phone chimed again. It was Jasper. My phone chimed again as I was reading the message from Jasper, this message was from Emmett.

_**Goodnight Bella. Sleep well and dream of me, I know I'll be dreaming of you. Until tomorrow beautiful. – Jas**_

Holy shit. Jasper is freaking amazing, so sweet not to mention utterly beautiful. I closed the message without responding and opened Emmett's text.

_**You were so fucking hot tonight Bella. Your voice when you're up there on stage singing is so sexy. I look forward to our actual date next week. – Em**_

Ah Emmett. What else can I say about that man? I hit reply and typed out a quick message back to him.

_**Goodnight Em. You were hot as hell up there too. I don't think there were many women with dry panties in the bar after your performance. LOL. – B**_

I pressed send and headed off to my bedroom to get into my pajamas, washed my face and brushed my teeth before bed. Emmett's response came as I started brushing my teeth. I laughed and almost spit toothpaste all over the mirror at his response.

_**As long as your panties were wet too I'll be a happy motherfucker. ;) Night B! – Em**_

I finished up my nightly routine and went to bed, hoping for a clear direction after my date with Jasper tomorrow night. He really seemed like a genuinely nice guy and I could see myself with him, but I wasn't sure it would have the passion I want so badly.

Once I finally drifted off to sleep I dreamt, not of Jasper or Emmett, no I had to dream of _him._ The prick who did unspeakable things to me, things I never want to think about. It was all coming back at me during my dream.

_Bree and I were dancing to the beat in the club. It was packed tonight, there were people everywhere, we knew we had the attention of several men around the area, what man doesn't like to see two hot girls grinding up on each other. Bree has a boyfriend, but he never seems to mind one bit whenever we do this, and we do this practically every time we go out dancing. In fact I could see him sitting at our table nursing his beer and never taking his eyes off of us._

"_Riley looks like he's about to bust a nut Bree. You are so getting some hot sexin tonight girl." I whispered in her ear as she ground her ass on me._

_Bree laughed and looked in the direction of her man and gave him a sexy wink. "Oh yeah. I'm definitely getting some extra special lovin tonight B. We need to find you a man." Bree turned around as we danced more seductively. I felt two large hands wrap around my waist and looked at Bree, the look on her face was one of approval. I knew I could always count on her to tell me if a guy was my type or not. She nodded at me and leaned in. "I'm going to go see Riley for a bit. Have fun B."_

"_What's your name gorgeous?" The man behind me said into my ear. Gorgeous huh? I can't say that's too original, but I'll let it slide._

"_Bella. How about you?" I ground my ass into him and wrapped my arms back around his neck. He had longer hair than I usually liked, but it wasn't a deal breaker._

"_The name is Jamie. Do you want to get outta here?" His nose skimmed my neck and I shuddered._

"_Um, how about a drink first?" I moved out of his grasp and turned around, getting a good look at him. He was only slightly taller than me, tan, long blonde hair and steel blue eyes. He was cute in that surfer boy kind of way._

"_Sure thing sweetheart." Sweetheart, seriously? I don't know about this guy. His hand went to the small of my back as we head to the bar. I order a beer and he gets a whiskey. We talk for a little while, order more drinks and I am feeling really drunk now. I let Jamie lead me out of the bar, Bree and Riley had already left a little while ago, so I just followed him blindly. That was my first mistake. _

My alarm going off pulled me from my dreams and I hit it with my hand, effectively shutting it up and pulled the pillow over my head. I didn't have much to do today, I have my usual piano lesson at 1:00, but it's only 9 so I have time to catch a few more minutes of sleep, but the light is blinding in my room, damn, I forgot to close the drapes last night when I got home. If I get up to close them then I'll be up. I pull the covers up over my head and pray that it's enough to keep the light out of my eyes so I can go back to sleep and hopefully dream of something other than Jamie.

Twenty minutes later I was up, showered and making myself breakfast. The snipet of Jamie that I had dreamt last night was still fresh in my mind. After I ate my breakfast I sat down to write a song about the experience. I had pushed my time with Jamie to the back of my mind, trying desperately not to let it get to me, but after the dream I had last night everything came to the forefront and I knew I had to get it written down to purge the thoughts from my head. Writing was therapeutic for me, cleansing almost. My therapist told me once that I should use my talent for writing songs to work through my issues. It's something a lot of song writers do; they draw from their own experiences.

My phones alarm went off at twelve thirty alerting me that it was time to go to my piano lesson. I started taking lessons five years ago after I mastered playing the guitar. I loved learning to play new instruments and the piano is something I've been dying to learn for forever. I arrived at my instructor's house for my lesson right on time and Peter gave me a big hug, which was the norm for us. Peter's wife Charlotte is a chef and owns her own successful restaurant, she usually teaches me how to make some fabulous dishes after my piano lessons, in the last five years both my cooking and piano playing skills have developed into something that I could be proud of, too bad I had no-one to cook for so that particular skill goes mostly unused.

"Bella, how are you kid?" Peter kissed my forehead then followed my into the den where his beautiful baby grand was housed. I hoped one day that I would have something like that in my own home.

"I'm good Peter, and you?" Usually Peter served as my own personal sounding board, well one of, since I have multiple.

"Real good Bella. Charlotte has decided to open up another restaurant and I've decided to expand my business. I'm going to be opening up a storefront and hiring some other instructors to teach other instruments." He sounds so excited and proud and I can't help but feel those things for him and Charlotte as well. They are really great people; Charlotte is more like a mother to me than my own mother. Of course my own mother left my dad and I when I was 9 and I've seen her maybe 3 times since then.

"Peter, that's amazing. I guess that means you're going to start charging me more now for my lessons though, huh?" I asked him with a nudge to his shoulder and a chuckle.

"Actually Bella, that's something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Uh-oh. That sounds ominous." I sat there waiting for whatever he was going to tell me. Was he stopping our lessons? I enjoyed them so much, not that I really had much need for them anymore, but I always felt like coming here every week not only helped with my piano playing, but I loved my time with Peter and Charlotte. If that time was about to go away I was going to be very sad.

"No, no, nothing like that Bella. Actually I was hoping that I could persuade you to take on a few clients once the shop was open. I know you host karaoke at the bar two nights a week, but I think this would be a really great opportunity for you. Teaching is so fulfilling Bella, I think you'll love it and I can pay you as well as getting tips from the students or their parents. I just really wanted to…"

I had to cut off his ramblings. "I think it's a great idea Peter. What would you want me to teach though?" His smile widened at my acceptance of his offer and I could see the wheels turning in his head.

"You could teach whatever you want Bella. Voice lessons, piano, guitar. Hell you could teach all three if you wanted to."

"I think I can manage that as long as it doesn't interfere with my hosting karaoke nights. Does this mean I get my piano lessons for free now?"

"I don't think you need my silly little piano lessons anymore Bella, but I know Charlotte would cut off my balls if you didn't come visit us anymore, so I think that we can arrange for you to come by for "lessons" once in a while." We both laughed because it was true, the front door opened and Charlotte walked in looking as beautiful as ever.

"Bella! Oh honey, I'm so happy you're here." She rushed into the living room; I stood from the couch to greet her. She always gave the best hugs and I wasn't about to miss out on one of them.

"Hey Charlotte." I hugged her fiercely, just as she was doing to me.

"So did Peter tell you the good news then? I assume that's why you're sitting in her talking instead of playing." She glanced over at Peter and her smile was a mile wide, her white teeth gleaming.

"He did and I am so happy for both of you." I went to sit back down, Charlotte right behind me.

"Did you offer her the teaching job Peter?"

"Of course I did sweetheart and she graciously accepted, just as you said she would." Peter kissed his wife, there was so much love between them it was hard to look away, but I felt as though I was intruding on something very intimate. It's not like they were making out or anything, it was a chaste kiss, but sweet and loving.

"That's fantastic. Oh Bella, you are going to love teaching." I smiled and nodded at her. I had no doubt that I was going to love giving music lessons. "I'm going to go do some paperwork while you two get to work then I'm going to start dinner. Bella, honey, are you staying? I could use some help in the kitchen." I blushed; she could use my help in the kitchen like I could use help falling down.

"Um, no, actually I have plans tonight." Peter raised an eyebrow at me and Charlotte just smiled at me like the Cheshire cat. "I have a date."

"Oh my god Bella. Tell me everything." Charlotte seemed more excited than I did. What, did nobody think I went on dates or something? I'm not a social leper for crying out loud, geez.

"Charlotte, Bella and I really need to start our lesson. Can the gossiping about boys wait until later?" Peter didn't like talking about this kind of stuff usually so it didn't surprise me that he was trying to get out of listening to us.

"I suppose. Bella you don't have to leave right away after your lesson do you? I need some girl talk and I want to hear all about this boy you have a date with."

"Of course, I'll make time for you before I leave so we can chat. Promise." Peter was already at the piano waiting for me so I went to sit next to him. Charlotte was giddy as she walked out of the room.

Peter had me working on a piece by Billy Joel, this is what I loved about Peter the most, he didn't just teach the classical stuff, he had sheet music for everything from ABBA to Jay-Z and everything in between. He tried getting me to play some new Lady Gaga music he just picked up, but I wasn't having any of it.

"Bella, that was perfect. I really don't feel right about charging you for lessons anymore. I think you've surpassed me. The student has now become the teacher." Rolling my eyes I cleaned up the sheet music we had been using and put it back in the bench.

"Whatever you say Peter. I guess I need to go have my girl talk with Charlotte now. I'll see you before I leave k?" I hugged him, kissing his cheek as I headed toward the kitchen.

"Have fun with that Bella. I'll call you next week with more details on teaching. I'm really so happy that you decided to do this."

"Sounds good." I found Charlotte in the kitchen prepping for dinner. "Need help?" She turned around and waved me over to her.

"Sure, chop up these carrots, will ya honey?" I set to work and soon I had chopped carrots, celery and onions. No words are spoken while we worked, the only noise coming from the knife chopping the vegetables and Charlotte peeling the potatoes. "So I've been patient, but I can't stand it any longer. Tell me about this hot date."

"Well, we're going out to dinner tonight; he's picking me up at my place. I have no idea where we're going, but it doesn't really matter. He's a nice guy." I duck my head and blush thinking about Jasper.

"What's his name?" She asks.

"Jasper. His name is Jasper." I tell her.

"Uh huh. How did you meet Jasper?" I was really making her work for this information, I wasn't usually one to gossip and girl talk wasn't necessarily my thing.

"I met him at Eclipse. He came up to sing and he kissed me on stage after I sang with him."

"Now we're getting somewhere. So how was it?" I looked at her with a brow raised. "The kiss Bella how was the kiss?"

"It was…nice."

"Nice, is that all it was…nice? That doesn't sound too exciting Bella."

"No, Charlotte, it was great, really. Jasper is just…God, I don't even know how to describe him. He's so sweet and has this beautiful southern accent that comes out when he's nervous and when he sings, it's like magic. Seriously." I tell her all about him and how he asked for my number and ultimately out for dinner when we saw each other at the grocery store. She oohed and ahhed at all the right places and her eyes got a dreamy far off look to them. I didn't tell her about Emmett or Edward, I just didn't want to get into that whole mess with her.

I made it home by five and started to get ready for my date with Jasper. I had no idea where he was taking me, but I figured a nice casual dress would be alright. Jasper knocked on my door promptly at eight. I opened my door and looked at him in all his Jasper glory. He looked damn good wearing faded blue jeans and a dark blue button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up his forearms. He looked delicious.

"Damn Jasper, maybe I should go change, I'm going to look ridiculous standing next to you." He smirked and pulled me to him.

"You look breathtaking Bella. Don't you dare change." The chaste kiss he left on my lips left me wanting more, but he said we had reservations and we should get going so I grabbed my bag and sweater before letting him lead me to his car.

"So where are we going?" I asked once we were in the car.

"I actually thought we might try this new place I heard about. Edward said it was really good and was the perfect setting for a date." I gulped at his name. Edward had been to this place. Probably with one of his skanks. I felt the bile rise in my throat at the thought. "Hey, are you okay? You look a little green." I had to get control of myself. Edward is a manwhore and completely wrong for me. I had a really nice guy who wanted to go out with just me and I was ruining it by thinking about Edward and his many skanks. God what is wrong with me?

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry Jasper. It sounds perfect." I reached over the console to grab his hand. We talked about other things, non Edward things on the way to the restaurant and it seemed to calm my nerves.

The restaurant as it turns out was a place called Marrakesh, a Moroccan restaurant. The place was absolutely incredible. There were belly dancers all over the restaurant and to Jasper's credit his eyes never lingered on them. This is the type of place where you eat with your hands, it was all very sensual. My mind drifted off to Edward again and the thought of him doing this with some girl made me want to puke.

"So tell me about your family Bella."

"Hm, not much to tell. I'm an only child. My mom left my dad and I when I was nine and I've seen her less than a handful of times since she left. Pretty boring stuff really." I didn't particularly want to bring the mood down with the other things so I just stopped there.

"What about your dad, where's he?" He asked before taking a drink from his beer.

"He lives in Forks, it's a small town here in Washington. He's a retired cop, Police Chief actually. He's a great man." I missed my father a great deal and made a mental note to call him tomorrow. "What about you?"

"Well I had a younger sister, Caitlyn, but she passed away when she was four. She had Leukemia. I was six when she died. My mom and dad live in Texas, where I grew up. They moved into a different house, too many memories and all that. I went to school at Texas A&M where I studied psychology." Our conversation continued and I told Jasper all about how I went to the University of Washington and graduated with a Masters in Music Theory. I also told him about how on occasion I sing at Tanya's jazz club and he insisted that I tell him when I was going to be performing next so he could come in support. I didn't tell him that I would be singing on Saturday though; I didn't need him there to witness my humiliation.

After dinner we took a walk along the boardwalk, ate ice cream and talked some more. I learned that he and Edward met through Emmett, Emmett being Edward's old college roommate. Jasper met Emmett at a conference in Las Vegas for psychiatrists. Emmett it seems is a motivational speaker, something he didn't bother mentioning on our coffee date the day before. I was going to have to ask him how he got into that. I've never met a motivational speaker before, nor have I ever actually seen one at work. I in turn told him how I came about hosting karaoke at Eclipse. Angela was a good friend of mine in college. I may have, on a few drunken occasions, belted out a few songs here and there and maybe I dragged her to some karaoke bars during our four years at U Dub. She started working at Eclipse while she was working on her PhD to earn some extra money. She heard about the owner wanting to start up some karaoke nights and immediately thought of me. After a short talk with the owner he hired me on the spot. He bought the equipment and we set up a schedule. Eventually it got so popular that he extended it to 3 then 4 times per week. I also told him about the offer that Peter made me today and he thought it was a great idea. He was shocked that I could play both the piano and guitar. He promised that he would be my first student once Peter's shop was open. He really wanted to learn to play the guitar; I was more than happy to agree to his request. At the end of the night he dropped me off at my door, kissed me until I was breathless, but didn't push for more. I was left alone in my apartment with a feeling of contentment.

My date with Jasper was just perfect, besides the freak out early on over Edward and his skanks. I really needed to get off that already, so what if he brings dates there, that's none of my business. I got ready for bed and texted Tanya to let her know I was home and the date was perfect before slipping into bed. She is such a worry wart sometimes, so I always tell her when I get home if I know I'm going to be out late. She says it eases her mind, that she'll sleep better when she knows I'm home and safe. I'm pretty sure that Demetri has put her into an orgasmic coma by now, but better safe than sorry. The last thing I need right now is for her to come pounding on my damn door while I'm trying to sleep. I was going to need all I could get to prepare for my set tomorrow night.

**Alright, so this just seemed like a good place to stop, so I'm stopping here. Review, review, review. Next up we have Bella's gig at Tanya's Jazz club so stay tuned, it's going to be AWESOME! Just sayin. Let me know what you thought of the EPOV, is that something you'd like more of?**


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys, so sorry for the long wait. I won't keep you from Edward though so enjoy. SM owns all things Twilight, I just like to have fun with the characters.

I am a bundle of fucking nerves. Tay has supplied me with a bottle of Jack and I've had maybe three shots so far, but it's doing nothing to calm the butterflies in my stomach. Of course this is typical for me when I am singing at Requiems and no matter how many times I do this, the butterflies always come to the party making me want to spew out my stomach contents all over the floor and possibly Demetri's Gucci shoes.

"You're on in five Bells." Tanya has poked her head in at least 20 times in the last five minutes to make sure I was okay. It was a little odd, not gonna lie, usually she comes in to check on me only a handful of times. It occurs to me that she may have something up her sleeve tonight, but the butterflies make their presence known again and I have to take a sip of water to push them down.

"Thanks Tay." She offers me a half smile before she backs out of the door. Yeah, something is definitely up with her. I take another shot and pray that this one calms me down so I can get out there and sing my new stuff. The new songs are so personal to me and I really want people to like it. I take another swig of water and take a deep breath. Out in the bar I can hear a lot of people talking and steel myself for what I'm about to do.

"Please welcome Bella Swan to the stage." With my guitar strap on my shoulder I go up to the stage. The lights are bright in my eyes and I can't see who is sitting out there, but I feel a slight buzzing. I brush it off and blame the Jack I downed in the back.

"Hi everyone. I've written some new pieces that I want to try out on you guys. I hope you enjoy it." I immediately start with Hey Stephen, the song I wrote for Edward. I am so glad that he isn't here or I would never have the guts to sing this song. A bunch of strangers that don't know him or me make me feel safe, which will help me get through this. The buzzing feeling is still there but again I brush it off. There is absolutely no way that he could know anything about me singing here.

Hey Stephen, I know looks can be deceiving  
But I know I saw a light in you  
And as we walked we were talking  
I didn't say half the things I wanted to

Of all the girls tossing rocks at your window  
I'll be the one waiting there even when it's cold  
Hey Stephen, boy, you might have me believing  
I don't always have to be alone

'Cause I can't help it if you look like an angel  
Can't help it if I wanna kiss you in the rain so  
Come feel this magic I've been feeling since I met you  
Can't help it if there's no one else  
Mmm, I can't help myself

Hey Stephen, I've been holding back this feeling  
So I got some things to say to you  
I've seen it all, so I thought  
But I never seen nobody shine the way you do

The way you walk, way you talk, way you say my name  
It's beautiful, wonderful, don't you ever change  
Hey Stephen, why are people always leaving?  
I think you and I should stay the same

'Cause I can't help it if you look like an angel  
Can't help it if I wanna kiss you in the rain so  
Come feel this magic I've been feeling since I met you  
Can't help it if there's no one else  
Mmm, I can't help myself

They're dimming the street lights, you're perfect for me  
Why aren't you here tonight?  
I'm waiting alone now, so come on and come out  
And pull me near and shine, shine, shine

Hey Stephen, I could give you fifty reasons  
Why I should be the one you choose  
All those other girls, well, they're beautiful  
But would they write a song for you?

I can't help it if you look like an angel  
Can't help it if I wanna kiss you in the rain so  
Come feel this magic I've been feeling since I met you  
Can't help it if there's no one else  
Mmm, I can't help myself

If you look like an angel  
Can't help it if I wanna kiss you in the rain so  
Come feel this magic I've been feeling since I met you  
Can't help it if there's no one else  
Mmm, I can't help myself

Myself  
Can't help myself  
I can't help myself

The crowd in the club erupted in applause and I felt my blush rising. There was a loud clapping and whistling right in front of me and that's when I heard it. I was officially going to kill Tanya. She's the only one who could have done this and she was going to pay for it. Ignoring the voices that I knew were right in front of me I start strumming the guitar to go into the next song.

"Thank you! This next song is for Jamie."

I took a chance, I took a shot  
And you might think I'm bulletproof but I'm not  
You took a swing, I took it hard  
And down here from the ground, I see who you are

I'm sick and tired of your attitude  
I'm feeling like I don't know you  
You tell me that you love me then you cut me down

And I need you like a heartbeat  
But you know you got a mean streak  
Makes me run for cover when you're around

And here's to you and your temper  
Yes, I remember what you said last night  
And I know that you see what you're doing to me  
Tell me, why?

You could write a book on how  
To ruin someone's perfect day  
Well, I get so confused and frustrated  
Forget what I'm trying to say, oh

I'm sick and tired of your reasons  
I got no one to believe in  
You tell me that you want me, then push me around

And I need you like a heartbeat  
But you know you got a mean streak  
Makes me run for cover when you're around

Here's to you and your temper  
Yes, I remember what you said last night  
And I know that you see what you're doing to me  
Tell me, why?

Why do you have to make me feel small  
So you can feel whole inside?  
Why do you have to put down my dreams  
So you're the only thing on my mind?

I'm sick and tired of your attitude  
I'm feeling like I don't know you  
You tell me that you want me then cut me down

I'm sick and tired of your reasons  
I've got no one to believe in  
You ask me for my love then you push me around

Here's to you and your temper  
Yes, I remember what you said last night  
And I know that you see what you're doing to me  
Tell me, why? Why? Tell me, why?

I take a step back, let you go  
I told you I'm not bulletproof  
Now you know

Clapping came from all around me and suddenly Tanya was up on stage with me.

"Bella will be right back after a short break." Tanya said into the microphone, her hand on my forearm practically dragging me off the stage.

"What the hell Tay?" I was mad, livid even. How could she invite him here? When did she have time? When did she even talk to him? She must have seen him as he was leaving my place last night or when he was on his way up, but then why wouldn't he have told me when we were out that he met Tay and she invited him to the club? UGH! She's just standing there staring at me not saying anything. I want to slap her. "Why the fuck did you invite Jasper tonight? You had no right Tay."

"Bella, listen. Yes I invited him and I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I thought it would make you happy. He's hot by the way." I rolled my eyes and continued glaring at her, willing the answers to come from her mouth. "I can see you're pissed. I'm sorry, I really am, but you should have seen the look on his face when you were singing, he was so happy and I don't know…proud of you. It's adorable. And holy shit Bella, his friends are fucking gorgeous. If I wasn't married and happy at that I would totally jump that bronze haired god that's with him." What? SHIT! No, no, no, no, no, no. He cannot be here. If he heard the first song I sang, he'd know it was for him. Kill. ME. NOOOWWWWW!

"Tay, FUCK! Are you telling me that Edward is here?" She looked at me in confusion. "Edward, the bronze haired god. SHIT!" I was practically screaming, no scratch that I was screaming. I wouldn't be surprised if the whole club could hear me.

"Are you fucking kidding me Bella? That perfect piece of man meat is Edward? THE Edward? This is classic. Wait until I tell Demetri. Oh God Jacob is going to have a field day with this one."

"Don't you dare tell Jacob! I'll never hear the end of it." I paced waiting for some kind of solution to avoid my current situation, but thought of nothing, except pretending I was sick and just going home, but Tanya was standing right here and she knew I wasn't sick. Worse than that she'd make a damn scene if I even tried to get out of singing anymore. "What the hell am I going to do? I can't just go back out there now Tanya. I am completely mortified."

"Oh stop being overdramatic. Everything is going to be fine Bell. Just go out there and sing your heart out." Tanya was always the optimist. Yeah like I can just go back out there and sing when Jasper, Emmett and…GOD! Edward is out there. I'm in hell. No really, a black hole could just open up below my feet and suck me in and that would be better than this.

"Everything alright back here?" I heard the familiar voice of my best friend and thought I was dreaming. Yes, this is all just one bad dream, but my best friend is here. I turned in the direction of her voice and squealed.

"ROSALIE!" I ran to her and gave her a big hug. She laughed at my enthusiasm and hugged me back. "What are you doing here?"

"Well I had an interview and Tay called me to let me know you were singing tonight so here I am."

"Wait, back up. You had an interview? HERE? Are you moving here?" She nodded and we both started squealing. There may have been some jumping up and down too. Having Rose here took all the panic from my current situation away momentarily.

"Bell, you need to go back out there." Tanya said from behind me. I turned and gave her a level glare. "Oh stop with the dramatics already. Everything will be fine. Suck it up and go back out there."

"What's going on?" Rosalie looked utterly confused, of course she did, she had no idea what was going on, so I told her. "Oh good lord Bella. What have you gotten yourself into?"

"I didn't invite them here" I turned and pointed to Tanya, "she did! She did this to me, after I agreed to do her a favor."

"Okay, here's what we're going to do. Tay, you go out there and stall for a little bit while I get B's nerves under control. Bella, where's the Jack?" I looked at her with wide eyes and my mouth agape. "Stop pretending you're insulted and go get it." I closed my mouth, nodded and went to get the bottle. When I returned to Rose Tanya was gone and I could hear her talking to the crowd, stalling just as she was told to do. "Good. Okay, take a gulp Bella. Now this isn't so bad. Tanya says those men out there are hot, so good for you having all three of them on their knees for you. Don't roll your eyes at me missy. So the plan is for you to go back out there and sing your little heart out, come back here when you're done, where I will be waiting for you and we will make our escape back to your place. This way you don't have to face the three of them yet. Now that Hey Stephen song, I'm assuming that was about…"

"Edward." I took another big gulp of Jack and it was finally starting to work on me. I needed to stop drinking or I'd be a sloppy mess on stage and I wasn't in the mood for any further humiliation tonight.

"Right. The one you aren't actually dating. Holy Hell Bells how did you get yourself into this mess? How many times have I told you that it's fine to play the field but you don't date friends at the same time. That's just asking for trouble." Rose reprimanded. It wasn't as if dating Emmett and Jasper at the same time was causing any issues, it was my feelings toward Edward that caused me to panic and the fact that he's out there and that he heard the song, _his_ song. SHIT!

"You sound just like Paul."

"I knew I always liked that boy! Hot piece of ass that one is. Ah well. Okay, go back out there and we'll get out of here as fast as our legs can carry us when you're done. K?" I handed her the bottle and gave one quick nod before going back up on stage. The crowd clapped as I made my way to the piano and started playing Follow Through by Gavin Degraw. I didn't feel like playing any more of my own stuff, with the guys out there I just felt so naked singing my stuff in front of them so I played what felt right. Two more songs later and I stood up to uproarious applause. I felt good, it could have been the Jack, but I think it was the crowd, they were amazing. I didn't bother waiting for Tanya to come up to the stage, I just got up and ran to where I knew Rose would be, the sight before me when I got to her stopped me dead in my tracks though. There stood Rose, with Emmett leaning into her, they looked intimate. I felt a pang of jealousy because he had just been out with me a couple of days ago and we were supposed to be going out again on Friday on a real date and now here he was hanging on my best friend.

"Uh UM!" They broke apart and at least they had the decency to look guilty. "Emmett, what are you doing back here?"

"Hey Belly. Great show babe." He walked over and pulled me into one of his bear hugs. "So, um. Look I just came back here to see if you were alright after whatever that was earlier. I found Rosie here watching you and we got to talking. Did you know that she's an engineer?"

"Um, yeah, I did know that, she is my best friend after all."

"Oh, right. Okay, well I know Jazz is eager to get back here to you, so I'll just…" He turned away from me, walking back out to the bar and I noticed the way Rose was staring at him. I knew that look, she wanted him. Truth be told, there was no chemistry between Em and I, not like that anyway, so if my best friend wanted him, who was I to deny her that? Come to think of it they were perfect for each other.

"Look Bella, I know what that looked like, but it was all very innocent, I assure you. I would never…" I put my hand up to stop her, she didn't need to make excuses, I think in the back of my head I knew Emmett was perfect for her, but it just took seeing them together to solidify it.

"You should go for it with him Rose. He's perfect for you." Rose was never speechless, nor did she EVER leave her mouth open. Rose was never surprised, always prepared so to see her with wide eyes and mouth agape, just as I was an hour ago was a little strange. "You'll catch a fly Rose." She immediately closed her mouth, but just stared at me like I'd grown a second head. I tried unsuccessfully to suppress the giggles.

"Y-yy-you're not mad?" Another thing that Rosalie Hale never does is stutter.

"No, I'm not mad. Can we go now? I'm tired and just want to get out of here." I asked as I was collecting my things so we could leave

"Yeah, of course Bella. Let's go." Rose grabbed her stuff before we started out of the club.

"Bella?" Jasper, of course. There was no way I was making it out of here alive.

"Jazz!" I ran to him, jumping in his arms. Just because I knew I was in for it didn't mean I wasn't happy to see him.

Jasper laughed as he swung me around in his arms and kissed my neck. "You did absolutely amazing baby. I knew you could sing, but, just WOW Bella."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. You did great. I especially liked your own stuff. You're going to have to tell me about this Jamie character though; I want to kick his ass after that song you sang to him." He nuzzled my neck a little more before there was the sound of a throat clearing behind us.

"Oh. Jasper, this is one of my best friends Rosalie Hale, Rosalie this is Jasper Whitlock." They both shook hands and exchanged pleasantries until Edward came in. When I took in the sight of him in his dark jeans and button up white shirt my heart rate sped up and my mouth became dry. Jasper's arm was still around me and I wouldn't be surprised if he could hear and feel my heart pounding. "Edward, thank you for coming tonight." I said to him as his eyes raked over me. I felt the all too familiar blush creep over my face whenever he was near me, I need to get his attention off of me. "Edward, this is my best friend Rosalie." Unlike Rose and Jazz they just nodded at each other, Edward never took his eyes off of me unless it was to scowl at Jazz's hand that was currently placed on my hip.

"No problem Bella. You were amazing up there tonight. I especially liked that first song you sang, what was that called?" Edward asked. His signature smirk firmly in place as he said it too. Shit, he knew that was about him, I just know it.

"It's called Hey Stephen. I'm glad you enjoyed it." I tried to act nonchalant, but I don't think it worked based on the all knowing look he was giving me.

"Mmm, I did Bella. So when may I ask did you write that little gem? Is it something fairly recent or is it something that you've been holding onto for a while?" Yeah, he definitely knew it was about him. Fuck My Life.

"Actually I just…" Thankfully Tanya rushed back to us at that moment and I was saved from telling him exactly when I did write that song.

"Bell, girl the crowd is screaming for more. You did so great out there babe." She stopped to look at everyone, gave Rose a hug since she didn't do it earlier and continued on. "Jasper nice to see you again. You must be Edward, I've heard a lot about you."

"TAY!" I scolded. Shit, the woman needs to keep her damn trap shut.

"Oh, sorry. Anyway, Demetri wanted me to come back here and grab you for a second if that's okay."

"Sure." I kissed Jasper on the cheek before following after her. "I'll be right back."

EPOV

I was out running errands, picking up dry cleaning, groceries, that sort of thing when Jasper called. I was still pissed that he had kissed Bella, but what he said on the phone just had me seeing fucking red.

"Hey man. Listen, I ran into Bella's friend Tanya yesterday and she mentioned that Bella was going to be singing at her jazz club Requiems tonight and I wanted to see what you were up to."

I tried to sound like I wasn't pissed, really I had no right to be, she wasn't mine nor did Jasper have any idea that I wanted her to be mine, so I decided to suck it up. On the up side if I went out with him to this club tonight I'd get to see her again. I wasn't too happy when she bailed on me Thursday night after karaoke and I still needed to talk to her.

"Yeah, sure. That sounds like fun. What time is she supposed to be on?" He told me what time to meet him there and our conversation after that was fairly quick. I knew there was something going on with him though. He's never made this much of an effort to get into a girls panties before.

I grabbed a sandwich at the nearby deli and went home to eat and relax a bit before I had to get ready to go. I wasn't sure what to expect tonight, Bella has an amazing voice, but I had no idea that she sang other than at karaoke nights. Goes to show how much I actually know about her I guess.

When I got to Requiems Jasper and Emmett hadn't gotten there yet, the place wasn't very full so I got a table big enough for the three of us near the front of the stage. When the waitress stopped by our table I ordered three beers as I waited for my friends. I noticed movement to my left and saw none other than Bella and some strawberry blond girl talking and walking to what I assumed was the back with a bottle of Jack Daniels. Once they were out of my sight I let out a breath, I hadn't even realized I'd been holding my damn breath, but Bella seemed to always have that effect on me. She was beautiful tonight. She had on these black pants that look like they were painted on her slender legs and a tank top with sequins all over it. Her hair was down in loose waves, her make-up was light except for her eyes, they were smoky and she looked fucking hot.

"Hey Edward." Jasper and Emmett took their seats and started in on their beers. "Thanks for coming guys. Bella will be happy that we all came. Tanya said she's shy about asking people to come watch her but she's excited to have some supporters."

"So what's the deal here Jazz?" Emmett asked. "I mean are you two, you know?"

"We went out yesterday. We had a nice time." He told us; again I was seeing red, trying to hold the rage inside of me so I didn't pop my best friend in the nose.

"She's something isn't she? Man when we had coffee on Wednesday we never stopped laughing. Good lord that girl can kiss too, can't she Jazz?" WHAT? No, no, no, no, no, no, no. This cannot be happening, Emmett too?

"I know. I felt that shit in my toes last night."

"You sound like a chick man." Emmett chortled while smacking Jazz on the back.

"You two are both fucking Bella and neither of you have issues with this? What the hell is wrong with you two?" I asked. I was mad, seriously fucking pissed. I did not want to think about my two best friends having their dicks anywhere near my Bella.

"I'm not fucking her, wait are you…" They both said it at the same time. Okay, good. Now I don't have to rip both of your dicks off, I don't want them kissing her either, but as long as it stays in their pants then I don't have to commit murder.

"Alright you two. What the hell is going on here? Obviously you're both dating the same girl, how is this supposed to work?" It's a valid question, who ever heard of two best friends dating the same girl and it not ending badly.

Jasper spoke first since Emmett seemed like he was lost in thought. "Well obviously, at least on my part, I'm hoping that she feels something more for one of us than she does the other early on and then she'll just choose one."

"Yeah, that works for me. I won't let it affect our friendship Jazz. Bros before hoes man, bros before hoes." They fist bumped each other like a couple of Neanderthals. Really what did Bella see in these two? I shouldn't say that, they are my best friends and I don't know what I'd do without either of them, but Jesus, do they actually see this working out?

Bella came out about an hour later, after some moron who was supposed to be funny. Thank Christ she came out, I couldn't take another minute of that guy.

"Hi everyone. I've written some new pieces that I want to try out on you guys. I hope you enjoy them." The song started off and I couldn't take my eyes off of her. She was in her element up there singing this song about some idiot named Stephen? I listened to the words and wondered if maybe she was singing about Jazz or Em, it's possible, she is a songwriter and don't they usually draw from personal experiences for these things? I stopped my musing and listened to the words she was singing and then she got to this part and I knew, I felt it in the pit of my stomach that she wasn't talking about Jazz or Emmett. What was that line she just sang? "Hey Stephen, I could give you fifty reasons why I should be the one you choose, All those other girls, well, they're beautiful, but would they write a song for you?" No, they aren't giving off the appearance of a manwhore in front of her, that's all me. Could this song be for me? I wasn't sure if I felt sick at the thought or blissfully happy.

The song came to an end and everyone was on their feet cheering and clapping. Emmett was loud and I mean fucking loud, Jasper was screaming her name, but I don't think she heard any of it. She was phenomenal up there; she blushed a beautiful deep pink color and started strumming her guitar for her next song.

"Thank you! This next song is for Jamie."

Who the fuck is Jamie? I swear to god how many guys is she stringing along? Again I had to shut up my inner musings and listened to the words of her song. The more I listened the angrier I got. Seems this Jamie asshole did a fucking number on her. I wanted to rip his throat out. If the words to this song were true then the asshole fucking hit her, he HIT Bella and made her feel like nothing. Who would do something like that to an angel? I chanced a look at Jasper and he looked in awe of Bella, I didn't notice one ounce of anger on his face as he listened to her, he probably wasn't paying any attention to the lyrics of her song, for me though, I've been around her for months and paid attention to every word she ever sang, even it was just karaoke. I moved my attention over to Emmett and he looked like he was about ready to kill someone, now that's more like it.

"Dude, do you think the words in this song come from personal experience?" He asked me. Jasper whipped his head in our direction at Emmett's question and waited for my response.

"I don't know man. They say that song writers use personal experience to write songs, but who knows. Maybe this was written about a friend of hers and their relationship or it could have been her own experience. I just…I don't fucking know man. If someone did these things to her though I'll rip his fucking balls off." Emmett had his hand wrapped so tightly around the neck of his bottle of beer I thought it might shatter in his hand.

"Yeah. Me too. Bella doesn't deserve that shit. She's a great girl." He said as he tried to calm himself down. "Excuse me a minute guys." He shot out of his seat to what I was assuming was the bathroom.

The same blond woman that introduced Bella before she came on stage came up and said that Bella was taking a short break and practically dragged her off stage. Hmm, I wonder what that's about?

"Hey Jazz, man?" He looked up at me, his eyes were almost pure black and he looked utterly fucking pissed. I guessed that he was going over the lyrics to that last song over his head. "So you and Bella huh? Is that why you asked me a good place to take a girl on date the other day?" He had called a couple of days ago asking about a nice romantic spot and I pointed him towards Marrakesh, a place that my boss Ben had taken his dates a few times and he just raved about it. Had I known the asshat was talking about taking Bella I never would have suggested it.

"Yeah. It was great, thanks for the tip. Bella loved it. She's really great Edward." He had a huge smile plastered on his face at this point and I just wanted to rip it off.

"She is pretty hot man. So you said that you didn't fuck her, what happened? Couldn't close the deal?" The thought of Bella turning him down made me giddy.

"Actually man, I didn't even try. We talked about our lives, ate ice cream on the boardwalk and when I dropped her off at her place I just kissed her. I didn't push for more than that because, shit man. Bella's special." She sure fucking is, I could have told him that a while ago.

"That's great Jazz. So when are you seeing her again?" Was this a serious thing with them? I know in the back of my mind that I have no chance with a girl like Bella and Jazz is a really good guy, he deserves her, I don't.

"We hadn't actually made plans to see each other again yet." He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. "Do you think that's a bad sign?"

I shrugged at him and continued drinking my beer. "No idea man. Women are confusing characters."

"Must be why you only have one night stands, right man?" He chuckled. Fucking asshole. He doesn't know shit.

"What!" I asked defensively.

"What? I mean..listen man, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that I can't remember the last time I saw you with the same girl twice and Bella said she sees you leave with a different girl on your arm every Tuesday and Thursday." Shit, she told him that, which means she's noticed, EVERY FUCKING TIME. I could do nothing more but scoff at his comment.

"I don't have sex with all of them Jazz. I want to change, I do. I want something more meaningful, I just don't know how to go about doing it." It was the first honest thing I have ever said to my best friend about this, I always just let him assume that I was happy getting it from different women and never wanting anything real.

Jasper leaned forward and looked me straight in the eyes before he spoke. "Edward, admitting you want a change is a great place to start. Is there anyone in particular you are interested in having a relationship with?" I just nodded. I wasn't about to actually tell him that the girl I wanted was Bella. I don't know how he didn't get it the other night when I basically told him to back off of her. "Good, that's great to hear. You need to ask her out. Go out on a date with the girl. Most of all, and I know this is difficult, but you need to keep it in your pants until you get to know her better."

The label from my beer was completely shredded and taken off the bottle at this point. I was sure that I could do that, I wasn't ruled by my cock for Christ's sake. "Yeah. You're right Jazz. Thanks." Emmett came back to the table looking a little strange. "Em? What's up you look like you've seen a ghost."

"I think I just saw the woman of my dreams." He said. His face still held the same expression as he looked around the room.

"Wait, you went and saw Bella, didn't you?" Jasper asked him with a scowl on his face.

"Well that was my intention, yes, but then I literally ran into this woman and my God, she's my wet dream come true. I just have to figure out a way to break things off with Bella and figure out who this girl is." O-kaaay. I guess I have 1 down, 1 to go as far as Bella is concerned. Can't say I'm too upset about it.

Bella finally returned on stage and sang some more. She played the guitar and the piano as each song called for it. The girl was fucking amazing and I couldn't wait to learn what else she was good at. Blackbird was about half way through when Emmett got up to look for his mystery girl, Jasper seemed happier by the new developments.

"What do you think his chances are with the mystery woman?" Jasper asked. I was too enthralled with Bella to register what he said though. "Edward?"

"Hm? What? Did you say something?" He laughed at me.

"It's Bella, isn't it?" He asked me.

"Nah. I could never be good enough for a girl like her." I turned my attention back to the stage just as Bella played the last chords on her guitar.

"Thank you! Good night everyone." With that Jasper and I got up to go backstage. I excused myself to use the restroom as he went backstage to go see Bella. I needed to pull myself together. Jazz knew about my thing for Bella, that was abundantly clear and I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. If he knows for sure would he back off to make way for me or would he be pissed at me for lusting after Bella? Deciding it was best to just let them be and hopefully realize that they don't actually belong with each other I exited the restroom and headed for the backstage area. I overheard Bella's sweet voice talking to everyone before I saw them.

"Oh. Jasper, this is one of my best friends Rosalie Hale, Rosalie this is Jasper Whitlock." The woman I guessed was Rosalie shook Jaspers hand before I was seen. Bella's gaze turned towards me and she blushed a lovely shade of pink.

"Edward, thank you for coming tonight." She said as my eyes raked over her. She truly is breathtaking. "Edward, this is my best friend Rosalie." We nodded at each other; I couldn't take my eyes off of her or Jazz's hand on her hip. I wanted to rip it off and replace it with my own. Yeah, I know, I'm pathetic, what can I say?

"No problem Bella. You were amazing up there tonight. I especially liked that first song you sang, what was that called?" I asked her with a smirk. That song _had_ to have something to do with me, it just had to and I figured there was no harm in calling her out on it.

"It's called Hey Stephen. I'm glad you enjoyed it." She shifted uncomfortably and Jazz looked unhappy with my comment.

I decided that I didn't give a shit if Jazz didn't like it; I was going to push the limit with her on this one. "Mmm, I did Bella. So when may I ask did you write that little gem? Is it something fairly recent or is it something that you've been holding onto for a while?"

"Actually I just…" Unfortunately the strawberry blonde came back and interrupted her before she could answer my question.

"Bell, girl the crowd is screaming for more. You did so great out there babe." The woman took a look around the room, stopping when her eyes saw Jasper. "Jasper nice to see you again." He gave her a similar greeting before she shifted her gaze to me. "You must be Edward, I've heard a lot about you." Okay? I guess Bella must have talked to her about me at some point.

"TAY!" Bella yelled at her friend.

"Oh, sorry. Anyway, Demetri wanted me to come back here and grab you for a second if that's okay."

"Sure." Bella responded, kissing Jasper's cheek then following her friend out. She turned around to look at all of us before she was completely out of the room. "I'll be right back."

Jasper turned to me and we talked more about Bella. Rose and Emmett seemed to be getting cozy and I was a little ticked off. Emmett said he was going to break things off with Bella, but from what I could tell that hadn't happened yet.

"Em?" I called to him. He stopped talking to Rose and looked at me expectantly. I motioned for him to follow me and walked to a more secluded place so I could talk to him.

"What's up Ed?" I groaned as he smiled at me, his arms crossed over his chest.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

"What do you mean? I'm not doing anything." He said defensively. He could tell by the tone of my voice that I was mad.

"Not doing anything? Em, you're practically falling all over Bella's best friend. BELLA, who you are supposed to be dating."

"Dude, we're just talking. I like Bella and I would never do anything to hurt her, but I already told you that I was going to break things off with her and Rose is the girl I was talking about."

"You need to break things off with Bella before you start something with Rose Em?" I told him, it was obvious to me that he and Rose were attracted to each other, any idiot could tell the way they would lean into one another it had to be apparent to Bella.

"I know." He said.

"She's her best friend Em. Be careful with her." Did he not see what was wrong with this scenario? This could really hurt Bella.

"YEAH! And she's dating one of my best friends as well as me, so how is that any different Edward? What the fuck do you care anyway?" His eyes were locked on me searching for something it seemed, when he finally broke his gaze he got a huge smile on his face and it just angered me more.

"What are you smiling at?" I asked him angrily.

"You like her." It was a statement and I'm sure I gave him just the reaction he was looking for.

"What are you talking about?" I didn't want him or anyone else to know about my feelings towards Bella.

"Bella! You. Like. Bella." He was talking slowly, enunciating each word like I was a fucking idiot.

"NO. No, I don't. I just don't want to see her hurt because you can't keep your hands off her friend."

"I'm not buying it. You've never been protective over a girl, well not since…"

"DON'T!" I yelled interrupting him. I really didn't need him to finish that sentence. She was gone; there was no use in talking about her.

He held up his hands to show he was backing off that topic.

"Look man, I like Bella, but the moment I saw Rosie I felt something, a spark. I don't know. I sound like a damn girl." Emmett chuckled lightly as he looked at his feet. I have to admit that I've never seen him like this. "I have to talk to Bella."

"Talk to me about what?" Bella was suddenly at our side, I turned and smiled at her, she thankfully smiled back.

"I'll just…" I turned and left them to chat and go find Jas, it wasn't difficult, he was talking with Bella's friend Tanya.

"There you are. I was wondering what happened to you and Em. Did Bella find you?" Jasper asked me. That was odd, she was looking for me?

"Um, yeah. She's talking to Emmett right now. Was she looking for me?" I was curious as to why she would be looking for me and hoped that Jasper could shed some light on it. I wasn't overly optimistic that she was going to want to talk to me after Emmett told her about Rose.

"Oh yeah. I don't know why though, just said she needed to talk to you." He shrugged and went back to talking to Tanya. "So this club is really great Tanya, how did you and…"

"Demetri." Tanya answered his unasked question.

"Right, Demetri. How did you two get into owning a club?" Jasper could befriend just about anyone, it's always been that way. He's just got this calming way about him. Puts everyone at ease.

"Demetri has always had this love of music and it's been his dream as far back as I can remember. His grandmother passed a few years ago and left him quite a bit of money so we decided to use it to open this place up. It's been unbelievable, hard at first, but once we got into a groove and got some talent in here we've been doing really well. Bella plays here about once a month. I usually have to guilt trip her into it, but I know she loves it. It's the nerves that make her resistant to doing it more regularly. Jamie, well he never encouraged her, said she wasn't any good and should do something else, but music is her passion, it's in her soul Jasper. She needs someone that's going to support her. You get what I'm saying?" Even though she said Jasper's name she was staring directly at me. Jasper just gave a curt nod in understanding.

"So this Jamie…he uh." I was nervous and didn't know if I actually wanted the answer to what I was asking. Tanya seemed to understand what I wanted to say and sighed.

"Yeah. I've never actually heard that song before, but yeah…he did all those things to her. It really messed her up. I probably shouldn't be telling you guys this, but… just be careful with her okay?"

"Tanya?" A big guy came into view looking everywhere until his eyes fell on Tanya. "Where's Bell?"

"Talking to Emmett over in that corner. She'll be back in a minute babe." He strolled over to her, grabbed her by the waist and kissed her temple. This must have been her husband. "Babe, this is Jasper and Edward. Guys this is my husband Demetri."

We shook hands, did the "nice to meet you" thing and watched as he practically molested his wife in front of us.

"Jas?" Bella finally came back out and she looked happy almost. There were no signs of tears at all. I wondered if Emmett actually talked to her or not. She had to have been hurt by the revelation that one of the guys she was dating wanted one of her best friends. I know it was killing me seeing her with my best friends when I wanted her for my own. Jasper hugged her lightly when she got to him.

"You okay darlin?" His hands rubbed circles on her lower back. He must have known what was going on.

"Yep. Emmett and I had a good talk."

"Oh yeah, what did you two talk about?" He asked.

"Well it seems that Emmett has a thing for my friend Rosalie, so we kind of broke up." Jaspers smile was huge at this news.

"And how do you feel about that Bella?" I asked her smirking. She blushed, yep she wants me.

"I'm actually fine with it. There really wasn't a…spark with Em. We'll be great friends though; he's like the big brother I never I had." Bella responded with a huge smile on her face.

"That's great baby! Now I get you all to myself." Jasper picked her up and spun her around kissing her neck. She squealed and my stomach churned. I had to make her see me, see that we could be good together. I just needed a plan.

A/N: Sorry for the delay in getting this out. We bought a house and moved. It's been insane lately.

So we're down to just Jasper. What do you think Edward is going to do to get her to see the real him?

Music in this chapter is courtesy of Taylor Swift. _Hey Stephen_ and _Tell Me Why. _ This is what I imagine Bella sounding like when she sings, plus I just love Taylor Swift, her songs are so expressive. I will try my hardest not to make you wait so long for the next chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

The story is mine, the characters are not. Enjoy!

My talk with Emmett went better than I had expected. It seems like we were on the same page and I couldn't have been happier about it. He and Rose were a good match and I just knew that this was for the best. Plus it gave me a reprieve from the guilt of dating best friends at the same time and I could concentrate fully on Jasper, well as fully as can be expected with my mind constantly on Edward.

"You ready to go rock star?" Jasper kissed my temple, effectively pulling me from my thoughts.

"Huh?" I asked dumbly.

"We wanted to take you out to dinner. Did you not hear a word we said Bella?" Jasper's tone was teasing. I must have really been in my own little world to not hear anything.

"Sorry. I guess I was just in my own little bubble. Dinner sounds great. Let's get out of here."

Edward was the first to walk out of the club, Emmett and Rosalie were right behind him, leaving Jasper and I taking up the rear. Tanya had to stay to run the club so she and Demetri declined the invitation.

We decided to take Emmett's jeep since there was room for all five of us to the restaurant then come back here to collect our separate cars to go home. I was in the backseat in the middle of Edward and Jasper. Hello, can you say UNCOMFORTABLE? I mean really, how the hell do I get myself into these situations? Jasper's hand was on my thigh, while Edward's leg was pressed up against my other one. I swore I felt his hand move up and down my leg at one point, but when I looked at him he was staring out the window. Guess I was just imagining things.

"I knew you could sing Bella, but hot damn you rocked it up there on that stage. I had no idea that you did that kind of thing." Emmett said from the front seat.

"Oh she doesn't do it that often. Usually it takes Tanya giving her a sob story or a guilt trip to do it, although I'm not sure why. She's amazing." Rosalie said, turning around and giving me a wink. Her eyes went directly to Jasper's hand on my right thigh and Edward's leg rubbing up against my left then back to me.

"Do you have a lot of your own songs Bella, or do you do mostly covers, because I have to say that the first two you sang were really good. I bet if we got a record producer to come down and hear you you'd be signed just like that." Jasper said as he rubbed my thigh. I couldn't help but notice that Edward tensed as he did this. Wonder what that was about.

"She has a million songs. She only chooses to sing two or three when she performs though then goes off and does covers. Isn't that right Bella?"

"Uh, yeah. I've been writing since I was 13, so, uh, yeah. I have a lot." I replied nervously. As much as it may seem odd, given my profession I really don't like having attention drawn to me.

"I'd like to hear some more sometime if you'd let me." Jasper said sweetly. To be honest Rose and Alice were the only ones that heard my stuff, all of it. Tanya didn't even know how many songs I had actually written. If she did she'd make me sing more often. Doing it once a month was enough for me.

"Um." Before I could answer Emmett announced we were at the restaurant so everyone piled out of the car.

"I was serious Bella. I want to hear your music. You were truly amazing up there. Although, we will be having a talk about this Jamie character sooner rather than later." I cringed, not wanting to have that conversation with Jasper. We had only just started dating and I wasn't sure where this was going. Talking about Jamie was…difficult and not something I did willingly with anyone other than Rose, Alice and Tay.

"Thanks. Maybe sometime I could show you how to even play a couple of songs since you'll be taking lessons and all." I tried lightening the mood, taking the tense talk of Jamie off the table; thankfully Jasper smiled and didn't press any further.

We sat down at the table and just like in the car I was sandwiched between Edward and Jasper and again Jaspers hand was on my thigh while Edward seemed to be scooting closer to me. I wondered why he was doing this when he could, and usually did, have every girl he wanted. It was obvious he had no issues getting girls, so why rub up against me? Was is because I was dating Jasper and was "off limits" now? That had to be it. The wanting what you can't have thing. I turned and gave him a glare hoping he'd back off.

"Problem?" Edward leaned in and whispered, although he didn't need to lean in too far since he was practically sitting on my lap.

"What are you doing?" I asked whispered back at him, trying my damnedest to sound put off by his behaviour.

"What?" He feigned innocence.

"You _know_ what." I was getting more frustrated with him and just needed him to back off. His close proximity was making me light headed.

"No Bella. Tell me. What is it that I'm doing?"

"What's going on?" Rosalie asked, obviously noticing our little chat.

"Nothing." I answered. I noticed Edward smirking at me from the corner of my eye. Ass! I focused my attention back on the menu and quickly decided on the mushroom ravioli. The waitress came to take our drink orders, but since we waited so long we were all ready to order our food as well.

"So Rosalie, you live in New York right?" Jasper asked my best friend who was currently making eyes at Emmett.

"Hmm? Oh yeah. I live in New York. It's amazing there, but I really miss Seattle, it's always been home to me, that's why I am interviewing for a position here. I miss my friends and my family."

"Wow, that's great, isn't it Emmett?" Edward said to his friend.

"Yeah, it's really great." His eyes never left Rosalie.

"When will you know about the job Rose? I'm anxious to have my best friend back home." I laughed. I was completely serious though; I missed her and Alice like crazy and couldn't wait to have at least one of them back home.

"They said they'd call in a couple of days, basically as soon as I get back to New York. Hopefully I'll have to put in my two weeks' notice and make arrangements to move back here."

"You can move in with me until you can find an apartment, you know I have plenty of room." I told her. I was actually really excited at the prospect of having Rose living with me.

"That would be great Bella. Thanks." Our dinners arrived just then, conversation stilled as we all ate. "Mm, Bella. I talked to Alice today. She said she was coming up in a couple of weeks."

"Yeah, I spoke with her too. She's staying with me for a few days. Any idea on why she's coming? Not that I'm not completely thrilled that's she's coming for a visit, but you know Alice, she never does anything without a reason."

"She told me she and Marcus broke up, said he didn't support her dreams." Rosalie rolled her eyes. Neither of us really liked Marcus to begin with. He was a selfish asshole who tried to control Alice and stifle her creativity. Said no wife of his was going to work for a living, he wanted her to stay home and have like a gazillion babies. Alice isn't the stay at home type; we knew it was only a matter of time before they broke up.

"About time." I told her as she nodded enthusiastically. Like I said, neither of us were fans of the guy.

"Hopefully I'll be back by the time she comes for a visit. Won't that be fun Bella?" She said excitedly. I agreed it would be a blast to have both my girls back; even it was only for a short time. The boys were quiet just listening to us talk. Apparently Rose noticed at the same time I did that we were being rude by excluding them from the conversation. "What is it that you do Jasper?" Rose asked, she said earlier that she wanted to get to know him better.

"I'm a psychiatrist actually. I have my own practice here." He responded. I noticed that Rose looked both impressed and scared at the same time. "Don't worry, I won't analyze you. That's what these two are for." He motioned to Emmett and Edward then laughed.

"Oh thank god." Rose said. "I hear you met Bella at Eclipse? Is that right?"

"Yeah, Emmett and I went to hang out with Edward, he goes every Tuesday and Thursday so we decided to tag along and see what the fuss was about. I was glad I did the minute I saw Bella." He squeezed my knee. I heard Edward huff beside me, but avoided looking at him.

"That's so sweet. Bella tells me that she's giving you guitar lessons as well, have you always been interested in the guitar?"

"Um, no. Music is more Edward's thing, but honestly playing the guitar seems like fun and with Bella as a teacher I'm sure it will be." Jasper kissed my temple and I just smiled. Rose looked at the two of us with a smile, and then looked to my left at Edward and the smile faded to something that looked almost sad.

"What about you Edward?" Rose asked, trying to get him to participate in the conversation.

"I'm a doctor." Edward said to her. It didn't seem like he wanted to talk about his profession, but Rose being Rose, she pressed on.

"Aren't doctors on call pretty much 24/7? How do you find the time to go to Karaoke every Tuesday and Thursday with that schedule?"

"I have my own practice and have three other doctors that work with me. They usually take all the calls on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Karaoke has been a great way for me to unwind and take my mind off sick patients. We're also closed on the weekends, so that's why I'm here tonight." He said casually. I hadn't noticed that I was staring at him the entire time he was talking until his eyes fixed on mine. He gave me a wide smile and lightly touched my hand. Of course the electricity was there as it always. Thankfully Rose brought us back to reality; our gaze broke as we all talked about work. I told them all how Peter wanted me to start teaching at his new school and they all thought it was a great idea. Jasper was already aware of the offer, but he gave his encouragement none the less.

Jasper's hand on my thigh and Edward practically on top of me was getting to me after we finished dinner and I excused myself to use the restroom. Rose followed after me and I heard the boys talking about how women can never just go to the restroom by themselves.

Once in the bathroom Rose cornered me.

"What's going on with you and Edward?"

"Rose, please." I replied. I was in no mood to have this discussion right now. My nerves were already shot from being so close to Edward. I couldn't admit to myself what I felt for him much less Rose.

"Bella. There is something going on between you two, I can tell. I'm one of your best friends; you can't hide it from me. So tell me. What's going on?" She was practically pleading for me to let her in, but I wasn't ready for this conversation.

"I just…I can't Rose. I don't know what's going on." I hung my head low, trying with all my might not to look at her. I didn't want to see the disappointment on her face.

"Bella." She came in close to me, rubbing my back to try and calm me down. I hadn't even realized I was crying until she tried to get me to stop. "It's okay honey. We don't have to talk about it right now." I finally settled down, Rose brought me a tissue to wipe my eyes. I don't know why I was such a mess. No, that's not true; I knew why I was a mess. I was dating the best friend of the man I wanted desperately to be with, but I couldn't, so I was settling. "I'm going to go back out there. Splash some water on your face and come out when you're ready. I'll tell the boys that we need to go home." With a sniffle and a nod from me Rose was out the door. I splashed water on my face and felt a lot better. I looked in the mirror and cringed, I looked like hell. Taking a couple of soothing breathes I opened the door to the bathroom, once I stepped out I ran into something, something hard and warm, with arms that wrapped around me to keep me from falling.

"Bella, are you alright?" His voice soothed me instantly and I relaxed against him. I knew it was wrong. These are not the arms that I should be finding comfort in, but I couldn't help myself. He was there and he smelled so good. I just wanted to breathe him in for a few minutes; pretend that he's the one that was meant to hold me in his arms. "You're shaking. Bella, look at me." I lifted my face to look at him, he was just so beautiful. How was I ever going to resist him? I reached my hand up and caressed his jaw line, his head leaning into the touch and his beautiful green eyes closed. I got up on my tip toes and gave him a light kiss on his jaw as his grip on me tightened. "Bella." He whispered. I pulled away, and went back to the table where everyone was waiting, leaving him standing in the hallway. What had I just done?

EPOV

The ride to the restaurant was the sweetest torture. My leg was pressed up against Bella and I could feel the current running between us. I was getting angry watching Jaspers hand on Bella's other thigh. I wanted to be doing that, but she was with him now, there was no way that was going to be happening. When she asked me what I was doing I acted as if I didn't know what she was talking about, but she was on to me. In the restaurant it was the same. I scooted in as close as I could to her, needing to feel that current again, it was like a drug to me, I needed it to get through this night almost as much as I needed air. Rosalie asked a bunch of questions after the girls chatted about their friend Alice and her impending visit. I didn't really like talking about myself, or my work. It's not that I wasn't proud of what I did for a living; I just don't like flaunting it. Yes I'm a doctor, yes I have money, but that's not what I wanted Bella to see in me. I wanted her to see the real me, not that I had been showing that to her previously with all the girls I would leave the club with. I was just looking for some company, someone to talk to. It also didn't hurt that Bella seemed jealous every time I left with someone. If Jasper and Emmett hadn't asked her out and started dating her I would have asked her out myself soon.

When Rosalie stopped asking me questions I turned to see Bella staring at me, I gave her a bright smile and the world seemed to stop right there, that is until Rosalie started talking again and Bella tore her eyes from mine. Shortly after Bella excused herself to use the restroom and Rosalie followed.

"What is it with women? They can never go to the restroom by themselves; they always have to go together?" Emmett asked with his mouth full of food.

"They go in there to talk about us Em." I told him.

"You think? What do you think Rose is saying about me?" He asked like a teenage girl in home room. Were we going to start passing each other notes now?

"How the fuck should I know man? You guys just met tonight, I'm sure she has a million questions for Bella, but I can pretty much guarantee you that they'll be up all night talking about you and most likely Jasper." Jasper nodded his head in agreement. "I gotta pee. I'll be back." I got up to leave and left Em and Jazz to themselves. Rosalie was coming out of the restroom, sans Bella. She gave me a pat on the shoulder as she passed by me. I wonder what that was about.

I had just entered the hallway leading to the restrooms when Bella literally ran right into me. I put my arms around her to keep her from falling and almost instantly she seemed to melt into me. She looked like she had been crying and I was worried. "Bella, are you alright?" I asked, but there was no response, she just held onto me, taking comfort in my arms. I figured it wasn't going to last long so I just enjoyed the moment, not needing to say anything, just feeling her in my arms was enough right now. She reached her hand up and trailed the line of my jaw before placing a sweet kiss there. My grip tightened around her, not wanting to let her go. "Bella." I whispered to her, not really sure of what I was trying to say. She pulled herself away from me and walked back to the table leaving me standing there utterly confused. I shook myself out of my haze and continued on my original path to the bathroom. I had a lot to think about and couldn't wait to get home. Having Bella in my arms felt right. I needed to find a way to have her as my own. Jasper would understand, he just had to. Maybe if I talked to him he'd break things off with her.

"Hey man, we're getting ready to leave. The girls are tired. We'll be outside waiting for you." Jasper had stuck his head into the restroom.

"Yeah, I'll be right out Jazz." I washed my hands and went outside to leave. They were already starting to pile into Emmett's car when I got out there so I followed suit and got in next to Bella. We arrived back at the club quicker than I thought possible and we were all saying goodbye, ready to go on our separate ways. I noticed Bella looking at me as Jasper hugged her. She looked sad almost. I wished it was me that was hugging her. "See ya guys! Bella, you were truly amazing up there tonight. I'm so glad I got to see it." I told her. She walked over to me, engulfing me in her arms.

"Thank you Edward." Her breath was hot on my ear. I didn't want to let her go, but knew if I held on much longer Jasper would notice and I'd never hear the end of it, so I slowly released her.

"You're welcome. See you later." I gave everyone else a wave as I walked to my car.

The rest of the weekend passed without incident and Monday brought on a hectic day. Seems like everyone was getting sick. They were mostly just the common cold, but one patient broke their arm, so that needed to be set and put in a cast. The craziness of the day kept my mind off of Bella so for that I was thankful. When I finally left the office I was exhausted. I wanted nothing more than to go home, grab a beer and watch some mindless TV. That however was not in the cards. As soon as I pulled up I saw Emmett's car in my driveway. I groaned, not really in the mood to deal with him right now.

"Edward! Thank god. I've been waiting for you for over an hour." He climbed out of his car and followed me to my front door.

"Hey Em. What's going on?" I asked. I tried to keep the irritation out of my voice; apparently I did a good job because Emmett didn't seem to notice at all.

"I talked to Rose this morning."

"Okay?"

"Well it seems she got that job she interviewed for on Friday." He told me, he seemed happy, but also a little scared.

"That's great Emmett." I wasn't sure where he was going with this and he needed to just talk before I kicked his ass out of my house.

"Yeah. So here's the problem. I really like her. We spent all day together yesterday and we're supposed to go out tonight with Jasper and Bella to celebrate. I actually tried calling you a couple of times to invite you but you never answered your phone." He still hadn't told me what the problem was, but the invitation to hang out with Bella was tempting, but I declined. I was just too damned tired, plus I didn't want to feel like the 5th wheel. "That's too bad man. It won't be the same without you." I waved him off.

"So what has you so freaked out Em?" Why can't I just read minds so I can figure out what his problem is and get him out of here faster?

"Okay, well I really like her and I don't want to move to fast, but God Edward, every time I am around her I just want to rip her clothes off and bury myself inside of her. How the fuck am I going to do this?" He asked.

"She's only here until tomorrow night, right?" He nodded in the affirmative so I continued. "You're going to have to take matters into your own hands before you see her. You only have tonight and tomorrow, then she'll be back in New York for at least a few weeks. Build on your relationship while she's there then hopefully by the time she comes back you'll both be ready."

"Yeah. Yeah I could do that. Thanks man, you're a lifesaver."

"No problem man. So have a good time tonight, tell Rose congratulations for me and sorry I couldn't be there." I really wanted my beer and mindless television. I had yet to figure out what I was going to do about Bella, but I needed to think of something and soon. "Can I ask you a question without you throwing a fit and getting all emo on me?" Emmett asked warily.

"Um…sure." I was hesitant, wondering what he was going to ask me that might make me upset. I looked at him expectantly, waiting for the dreaded question.

"What's up with you and Bella?" Say what?

"W-what?" I stuttered in shock by his question.

"You and Bella. There's something going on there, I can see it. I tried talking to Rose about it but she wasn't talking."

"Fuck." I muttered, not meaning for him to hear me, even though he did.

"I knew it." He yelled excitedly like he had won the lottery or something.

"Em. There's nothing going with Bella and me, I swear to you."

"I call bullshit Edward. I saw you two last night at the restaurant. I'm surprised that Jazz hasn't beaten your ass for the way you were looking at her."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Denial was always a good tactic, but judging by the look on his face he wasn't buying it.

"Edward! Come on man. I'm not as dumb as I look." He told me, his voice was nothing but serious.

"Fine. There really is nothing going on between us, but I can't deny that I want there to be something with her. Why do you think I go to karaoke twice a week every week Em?" I sincerely hope that my honesty with him doesn't end up biting me in the ass, but I couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Shit. So what are you gonna do?" He asked.

"If I knew that I'd already be doing it. I can't exactly go after her now that she's dating Jasper. Add that to the fact that she thinks I'm a player, I'm sure I don't have a shot in hell with her."

"I don't know about that. I've seen her looking at you too. She feels something for you, you just have to show her who you really are. The player image you put on yourself and to be honest I'm not sure why. I mean, if you've liked her for this long, why parade girls around in front of her?"

"I'm an idiot, that's why." What was I thinking? He was right; I put this all on myself. If I hadn't paraded girls in front of her face we may be together right now instead of her being with Jasper.

"I don't want to betray Jasper, but I'm going to tell you what he told me." My ears perked up and I was desperate to hear anything that might help me with Bella. "When you left the table to use the bathroom last night I asked him how things were going with Bella and he said that she was a great girl and he could see them being _friends_ for a long time." I blinked several times, trying to grasp what he was saying. He said friends; he didn't say he saw himself settling down with her, he said friends. That's when I realized that Jasper would most definitely be okay with me and Bella together; I just needed to talk to him.

"But if he doesn't see a future with her, then why continue seeing her? That doesn't seem like Jasper." Jasper would never lead someone on; if he didn't see things going very far with them he would end it. He was a great guy because of it and most of his ex's were still good friends of his.

"I have no idea. Maybe he thinks it's too early to tell for sure. All I know is that she looks at you like you're her sun and her whole world revolves around you, she doesn't look at Jas that way." When did Emmett get so deep? "Okay man, I'm out. Have a good evening by yourself. See you tomorrow at Eclipse, yeah?"

"Yep. Have a good night Em. And good luck keeping it in your pants." With a pat on the back he was on his way and I was finally by myself. I went into my room to change into some sweat pants and a t-shirt before I settled in for the night. With a beer in my hand not five minutes later I turned on the TV and lost myself in my thoughts. I was going to be with Bella, of that I was absolutely certain; I just had to figure out how to go about doing it.

BPOV

Edward didn't show up at the bar. I was a little sad when Emmett came in and told us he just wanted to stay at home tonight. I guess he was tired; I tried not to take it personally, like he was trying to avoid me after what happened last night. Maybe I had gone too far kissing his jaw like I did, but I just couldn't help myself.

When I went back to the table Jasper asked if I was okay and kissed me chastely on the lips. I told him I was fine, I just had a long day. He seemed to accept my explanation as he led me out of the restaurant. The ride back to the club was filled with chatting about various things, mostly Rosalie's move. She was excited to be staying with me until she could find her own place. Emmett seemed a little off though, I mean he seemed happy that she'd be coming back, but for some reason he looked tense. I hoped that he could get over whatever was stressing him out; he and Rose were good together. I could already tell and it had only been a few hours.

"I'll call you tomorrow?" Jasper posed it as a question. Maybe he had seen the interaction between Edward and I and wasn't feeling too sure of himself. I hated that I made him feel that way. I couldn't be with Edward, I was in this with him, or at least I was trying to be.

"You better." I teased. I was trying to keep things light especially after my little freak out. I gave him a sweet kiss on the lips before saying goodbye to everyone else. Edward said goodbye to everyone and complimented me on my performance tonight and for some reason I felt like it was the sweetest thing I had ever heard, so I walked over to him and hugged him with all my might. I thanked him before slowly letting him go. Rosalie gave Emmett a little kiss and her phone number before meeting me back at my car so we could head home.

"What was that Bella?" She immediately started in on me as soon as we got home and I knew she was talking about my hug with Edward.

"I don't know. He said that I was amazing on stage and he was so happy that he could see it and…shit. It was just the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me and I got a little emotional and felt the need to hug him." I told her.

"A little emotional?" Rose quirked an eyebrow at me, not so subtly hinting that I had been on an emotional rollercoaster today.

"Shut up. It's not like I did anything inappropriate. I just hugged a friend." She didn't say anything in response; she just stood there looking at me like I had four heads. "What? It's true." She still sat there staring at me and it was starting to get on my nerves. "You know what just forget it. I'm going to bed. You know where everything is to get settled in." I went into my room and shut the door and pulled my pajamas from my dresser. Once I was finally in my PJ's I got into bed and in no time I was asleep.

The next day when I woke up Rosalie was already showered and dressed sipping her coffee.

"Morning sleeping beauty." She got up off the stool, grabbed a cup from my cabinet and filled it with coffee before handing to me.

"Morning." I took the mug of hot caffeinated goodness gratefully. "Thanks." I could tell by the look in her eyes that she wanted to talk about Edward again, so I poured in my cream and sugar and sat down, getting ready for the onslaught of questions.

"I'm probably going to be gone most of the day. Emmett wants to take me out. Is that okay with you?"

I was shocked really and a little sad, I was hoping to spend some time with her before she left on Tuesday, oh well, maybe tomorrow.

"That's fine. Maybe tomorrow we can go hang out? I want to spend some time with you before you leave."

"I'm coming back in two weeks Bella, then I'll be living here, you're going to get sick of me." She laughed, knowing full well I'd never be sick of her.

"Like that's even possible Rose." I rolled my eyes at her, because how on earth was I going to get sick of her, she's my best friend.

"Yeah, yeah. Tomorrow sounds good, maybe we can go shopping. I looked through your closet and if you don't get some new stuff before Alice gets here she's going to have a field day." She didn't have time to go into my closet, she just got here last night and as soon as we got home I went to bed, unless she snuck in while I was sleeping. She wouldn't do that though, would she? Oh who am I kidding, of course she would. I tried to think of what I had in my closet and realized that she was right. I hadn't been shopping for actual clothes in a while, which was surprising since I had Tay living in the same building and that girl loved to shop.

"Sure Rose. Have a good time with Emmett today." I relented. She had a look of shock on her face, she probably expected a battle. HA that shows her.

"Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?" She asked teasingly.

I laughed with her, because I was never one to give up that easily and I hated shopping with every fiber of my being, but as much as I hated it, I knew I'd hate it more with Alice. She could go all day long and while the rest of us were dead on our feet she'd still want to hit some more stores. I don't know how she did it; she's like the fucking energizer bunny.

"I know you didn't think you were getting rid of me that easily. Emmett's not coming for another couple of hours so we have time to talk." This is so not going to end well for me. "Don't you groan at me missy. We need to talk about Edward."

"Rosalie! There's nothing to talk about. He's a player and I'm dating Jasper. End of story, there is absolutely nothing going on between Edward and me."

"Isabella Marie Swan, do not lie to me. I can see through you ya know. Okay, let me start." I groaned, which earned me a dirty look, but I didn't care. "First of all, you wrote a song about the guy." I was about to ask her how she knew that but she spoke again before I had a chance. "Tay told me. I heard the song Bella. You've got it bad for this guy and based on the way he was acting anytime Jasper touched or kissed you not to mention the way he looks at you I'd be willing to bet my paycheck that he has it bad for you too. Now what I don't understand is why on earth you are still with Jasper if you have these feelings for Edward. This isn't like you Bella. You have to know that you're just going to end up hurting Jasper if this continues. You and Edward are like soul mates or something and a connection like that doesn't get weaker Bella, it gets stronger, more intense." She finally stopped to take a breath and I figured that was a good time for me to start talking, unfortunately my cell phone rang. I looked at the screen to see who was calling and it was Jasper.

"Hold on Rose." I accepted the call knowing full well that as soon as I hung up I'd have to talk some more about Edward. "Hey Jas."

"Hey beautiful. A little birdie told me that you'd be on your own today and I was hoping I could convince you to see a movie with me and maybe grab some lunch. What do you say?" Jasper asked sweetly. I had nothing else planned today since Rose was going out with Emmett, so spending time with Jasper sounded like a great idea.

"I think that sounds perfect. What time?" Hopefully he didn't say he'd be here in an hour since I just woke up and have yet to take a shower.

"What time is it now? Hold on." He came back a second later with the time, it was 10:00. "How about I pick you up at your place at 1, does that work?"

"That will work. I'll see you at one Jasper. Bye."

"Bye sweetheart." Swoon.

I hung up the phone and just as I predicted Rose started in about Edward again.

"SOOOO?" She asked.

"So what?" Playing dumb was all I had at this point.

"BELLA! Stop with the stall tactics already." The frustration was obvious in her tone so I figured I'd just fess up at this point.

"Okay! Geez Rose, take a pill would ya?" I took a deep breath then let her have the dirty truth. "IhavefeelingsforEdward." I mumbled into my coffee cup.

"What was that Bella?"

"I said…I HAVE FEELINGS FOR EDWARD. Are you happy now?"

"Very! Now what are we going to do about this situation you've found yourself in?" Rose sat down with her coffee looking deep in thought. I sensed danger coming my way and I was scared. "First things first you need to break things off with Jasper."

"WHAT? Rose, I can't do that. I like Jasper." The thought of breaking things off with him actually hurt even though we've only been on one date.

"Bella, seriously, do I need to go over this again?" When I didn't answer she whipped out her cell phone mumbling something about drastic measures. Shit! She was calling Alice, I just knew it. "Hey Al, glad I caught you. Look, I'm having a difficult time with Bella…No it doesn't have to do with fashion, although she did say we could go shopping tomorrow…Yeah I'm in Seattle…What?...No, well yeah I guess…I had an interview…I haven't heard yet…Of course I'll tell you as soon as I know anything." I wasn't sure how long this was going to go on so I took a seat next to Rose on the sofa waiting impatiently for what I knew was coming my way. "Okay, well back to the reason I called. Bella is dating this guy…Yes Jasper, that's the one…Oh she's told you about him has she?...Well yes, he is very cute…No she's not dating Emmett anymore…Since last night…Well I'm sort of dating him now." I could hear Alice screaming from where I was sitting and I chuckled to myself. She had that coming; I mean she basically called Alice to tell on me. Little snitch, serves her right. "Alright, we'll talk more about that later. Anyways, she dating Jasper but she has feelings for Edward, one of his friends." Her eyes turned to me and she smirked. CRAP! Alice had already heard the whole sorted details on my love of all things Edward, well expect for his whoring around, that I could live without. Now I was really in for it. "Okay, I'll put you on speaker. Hold on Ali."

"ISABELLA MARIE WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Alice voice screamed from Rose's phone.

"Hello to you too Alice." I responded.

"Don't hello me missy. What's going on with you?"

"I don't know Al. I like Edward, as you know, but I can't get past all the girls he leaves with and Jasper's nice and wants to spend time with me and he's not a man whore at least he doesn't give off that impression. I don't know what I'm doing. Rose says I need to break things off with Jas, but I like him Ali, but she's right, it's not fair to Jas that I have all these pent of feelings for Edward and yeah it's stronger than the feelings I have for Jas, but other than him having an awesome singing voice, being a doctor and being the hottest man on the face of the planet, what do I really know about him? So what if he makes my panties wet with just a smile, I mean that's not something to base a relationship on. And what about Jamie? I got hurt so badly with him, I really don't want a repeat of that, not that Edward is the abusive type, but you know what I mean." It all came out as one long run on sentence and I know I didn't take a breath during the entire thing, no wonder my lungs hurt and Rose was looking at me like I'd lost my mind or maybe morphed into Alice.

"Okay, let's take a breath Bella. Here's what I think. It's obvious you have feelings towards Edward; however I think you have every right to be nervous about dating him. You have seen him leave the club every time with a different girl, which doesn't seem good, but maybe it isn't what it seems. I'm not saying that you should talk to him about it or anything because actions do speak louder than words, but we have no idea what happens once they are out of those doors. Rose does have a point about Jasper, if you're feelings for Edward are stronger than your feelings for him then it isn't fair to string him along."

"Look Alice, I see what you both are saying, but we just started dating, shouldn't I give it more time? Sometimes feelings develop over time. I just cannot let Edward in just to get crushed, I've been through enough. I need something good and Jasper is good." My voice was pleading with both of them to understand my point. If I gave Edward a chance, knowing what I know about him I was more likely to get hurt. Rose's face seemed resigned, now I just had to convince Alice to let this be.

"I get where you're coming from Bella, I do, and I have to say that I agree with you on this one. I say you continue seeing Jasper, see where this goes for a while. If you still feel more for Edward than him after a few weeks then break things off before it gets too far into it. What do you think Rose?" Alice was on my side. Thank you, there is a God.

"I agree, now that Bella has explained things a little better." Good, now that's over with we can get back to more pressing topics. "Alice, tell us about this upcoming visit, what's really behind it?"

Alice told us both that she broke things off with Marcus and she just needed some time away to clear her head. Our conversation turned to Rose's interview and we both agreed that she was going to get it. I told them both I needed to get going since Jasper was going to be by soon to pick me up and left to finally take my shower. I was feeling a lot better now that the girls were behind me with this.

We chose to see the latest romantic comedy then had a casual lunch. We talked and laughed for a long time before Jasper dropped me back at home leaving me with a kiss that made breathless again. The guy was a fabulous kisser. Rosalie still wasn't home when I got there; I figured she was having a good time with Emmett.

By the time she got back she was acting as if she was walking on the clouds. I had never seen her so happy before. She gushed about Emmett, telling me about their date. They played video games and bumper cars, ate cotton candy and apparently had one of the best make out sessions on the beach that she's ever experienced. My little girl was growing up. Sniff, sniff.

All this brings me back to today, sitting in the bar with Rose, Emmett and Jasper celebrating Rose's new job back home in Seattle. I couldn't help thinking about Edward the entire time, ignoring all the conversations going on around me. What was he doing? Why wasn't he here? Would he come by Eclipse tomorrow or just start avoiding me all together?

Not where I wanted to stop it, but if I didn't it would be 12,000 words, I assure you and that's just too long for 1 chapter. Hope you guys like where these two are going, I know it probably isn't what you were hoping for but Bella has issues due to Jamie and we'll explore that more soon, promise. She just doesn't trust Edward, not that he's given her reason to. He needs to prove himself to her.

Now, please take a few seconds and review. I love hearing what you guys think. Until next time.


	6. Chapter 6

**I know what you're thinking, "HOLY COW another new chapter already?" Yep that's right. Bella and Edward were awfully talkative and they just wouldn't take no for an answer, so here ya go.**

**Song in this chapter is Animal by Neon Trees, if you haven't heard it then you're missing out.**

**Stephenie Meyer is the genius behind Twilight, I just like to make the characters do my bidding.**

I dropped Rose off at the airport with a tearful goodbye right before I had to go to work at Eclipse. Emmett had said his goodbyes to her earlier. It was very sweet. They were bound and determined to make this work, which meant taking things slow. I was happy about this, Rose had slept with guys relatively early into the relationship and it just ended badly. I could tell already that that wouldn't be an issue with them, but better safe than sorry.

"Hey Bella! I heard you rocked at it at Requiem's on Saturday. I'm sorry I missed it." Angela had come up to the stage as she usually does when I first got there.

"Oh yeah, I guess. You can come to the next show Ang." I continued setting up as we talked about the show and everything that went down. I told her I'd fill her in on the whole Edward/Jasper thing later since it was getting late and it was almost time to open up. She gave me a wave and headed to the bar to get ready for the customers.

Twenty minutes later the place was packed and I started with my regular schpeel telling everyone how karaoke worked, blah, blah, blah. Jasper wasn't coming tonight, he had some patient who needed to see him last minute and I expected Emmett to be at home moping or here getting shitfaced. The music in the club was playing as I waited for requests when I saw Edward stroll in with a guy I'd never seen before. When he noticed me staring at him he smiled and waved, I returned the gesture before getting back to work. A couple people turned in requests so it was time to start things up. The night was turning out to be so much fun. All the singers were rocking their songs, even if they couldn't sing a note they owned the song up there. Edward or his friend had yet to come up with a request, I kept my eye on him the entire time, when he caught me looking at him he smirked but went back to his conversation with his friend. The lull that usually comes during the night was upon me so it was now my turn to sing. I was pumped from all the good energy from the other singers. I punched in the song onto the machine and took the stage.

Here we go again  
I kinda wanna be more than friends  
So take it easy on me  
I'm afraid you're never satisfied.  
Here we go again  
we're sick like animals  
we play pretend  
you're just a cannibal  
and I'm afraid I wont get out alive  
no I won't sleep tonight.

Oh, oh  
I want some more  
Oh, oh  
what are you waiting for?  
Take a bite of my heart tonight.  
Oh, oh  
I want some more  
Oh, oh Here we go again  
I kinda wanna be more than friends  
So take it easy on me  
I'm afraid you're never satisfied.  
Here we go again  
we're sick like animals  
we play pretend  
you're just a cannibal  
and I'm afraid I wont get out alive  
no I won't sleep tonight.  
what are you waiting for?  
what are you waiting for?  
Say goodbye to my heart tonight.

Here we are again  
I feel the chemicals kicking in  
it's getting heavier  
I wanna run and hide  
I wanna run and hide.  
I do it every time  
you're killing me now  
and I won't be denied by you  
the animal inside of you.

Oh, oh  
I want some more  
Oh, oh  
what are you waiting for?  
Take a bite of my heart tonight.  
Oh, oh  
I want some more  
Oh, oh Here we go again  
I kinda wanna be more than friends  
So take it easy on me  
I'm afraid you're never satisfied.  
Here we go again  
we're sick like animals  
we play pretend  
you're just a cannibal  
and I'm afraid I wont get out alive  
no I won't sleep tonight.  
what are you waiting for?  
what are you waiting for?  
Say goodbye to my heart tonight.

Hush hush the world is quiet  
hush hush we both can't fight it  
It's us that made this mess  
why can't you understand?  
Woah I won't sleep tonight.  
I won't sleep tonight.

I looked everywhere but at Edward during the entire song, afraid of seeing the recognition in his eyes. The applause died down as I went back to the request table. Sitting right one top was a note. I picked it up and put it my pocket for later and got back to work. There were quite a few more songs that had been requested. When I saw Edward's name on one I smiled at the song he chose, it was a perfect choice for his voice and I couldn't wait to hear him sing it.

"Next up is Keith!" I said excitedly in the mic. A tall burly guy who looked 3 sheets to the wind already bounded up the steps to get onto the stage. Once the music got started he was a little off on the timing and stayed that way. They guys was shit faced, and he practically fell over off the stage a few times. The bar was unusually silent as he butchered _Break on Through_, it was the first time all night that the energy just died, I hoped we could get it back after Keith got off stage. He was finally finished with his song and staggered back to me with the mic in his hands screaming loudly, not even noticing that the bar was silent.

"You know pretty lady, I saw that fella kiss you on stage here last week. I assume that's something you do with all the guys who sing up here, so come 'ere." He grabbed me by the wrist and forcefully pulled me toward him, it fucking hurt, I'm sure I was going to have a bruise by tomorrow. I tried to wiggle my wrist free from his iron grip, but he just held on tighter. I could hear all the different groups of people talking loudly so I wasn't sure if anyone would hear me if I screamed for help. His free hand grabbed my hip roughly, great more bruises. My body was smashed into his large frame and I could feel his breath coming in pants as it came closer to me. "LOOK AT ME GIRL!" He yelled at me, the conversations in the bar just seemed to get louder. He pulled my face up with the hand that was no longer around my wrist so that I was looking at him. I squirmed and cried in horror at what was about to happen, granted he couldn't do much, but we were behind a curtain and nobody could see what was going on. Surely Angela would come back here soon to see what was the hold up, wouldn't she? I squeezed my eyes shut as I waited, unable to do anything.

"Bella, is everything…LET GO OF HER ASSHOLE!" I heard his velvety voice turn menacing in a matter of seconds. Oh thank you God, thank you!

"Edward! Help me." I cried.

"DAD!" Edward yelled out. Dad? He brought his dad here? Suddenly Keith was being pulled away from me and I was enveloped in warmth. I inhaled taking the scent of Edward in and it helped me relax a bit. The bouncer had come over and roughly escorted the man out. Angela was at the mic telling everyone that karaoke was over for the night. Someone was talking to Edward but I couldn't tell what he was saying, the sounds were muffled by my own sobs. Edward's hands rubbed my back and he told me everything would be okay.

"Bella, shh baby. Everything will be okay. He's gone; the bouncer kicked his sorry ass out. I'm so sorry I didn't get here sooner. I'm so, so sorry." His voice was so torn up; I could tell he was blaming himself for not getting to me sooner.

"It's not your fault Edward. If you hadn't gotten back here when you did who knows what that creep would have done. Thank you for helping me." I looked into his eyes, hoping to convey how truly grateful I was that he came back here, then his lips were on mine, hard and demanding. I responded by licking his bottom lip, his mouth opened for me and our tongues seemed to dance with each other. I know it sounds cheesy but there's no other way to describe it. His arms tightened around me, his hand moving down to cup my ass and I moaned into his mouth.

"Edward." An unfamiliar voice broke me out of my Edward induced haze and I pulled away from him, my lips still tingling from the best kiss of my whole damn life.

"Sorry dad. I'll be right there." He said to the man. I turned to get a look at him and I could tell right away where Edward got his good looks. The man looked more like one of Edward's friends then his dad, not appearing to be more than 30. He was graying slightly at his temples, but it was hard to see since his hair was a fair blonde color.

"Hi there. I'm Carlisle Cullen, Edward's father. You must excuse my son's manners; I know my wife and I taught him better than that." He held his hand out to me, so I placed my hand to his. I was shocked when he brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it. Holy hell! I think I may need to sit down.

"Um, hi. I'm Bella." I replied lamely. These two men have effectively turned my mind to mush.

"Hello there Bella. I've heard quite a bit about you already from my son here, but I must say his description of you didn't do you justice. You are absolutely breathtaking my dear." And cue the swooning. My eloquent response to that was to giggle. You'd think after being traumatized that I wouldn't have the capacity to act like a silly little school girl, apparently that would be wrong.

"Dad, quite trying to charm the pants off the poor girl." Edward admonished. His arms were still around me, not that I minded at all. "Bella, let me look at your wrist?" I held out my wrist for him, he poked his finger around the bruised area, twisting it and that's when the pain hit me. I cried out as he twisted it to the left. "It's already bruising, but it looks like that asshole sprained your wrist. You're going to need a brace. You'll also want to ice that to keep the swelling down. Let me go ask the bartender if they have a wrap for you. I'll be back okay?" I nodded in awe of how well he was taking care of me.

"My son is rather taken with you Bella." Carlisle said, pulling me from watching Edward's retreating form.

"What?" I asked. Why would he be taken with me? He could have any girl he wanted, I'm plain, boring and also dating one of his best friends.

"Edward, I can tell how much my son likes you. I understand you are dating Jasper though, is that right?"

"Yes. Jasper's a great guy; we're having a lot of fun together." I told him honestly, trying to figure out where this conversation was going.

"I have to ask and you can tell me it's none of my business, but…" He stopped for a moment, trying to figure out how to say whatever was about to come next. "I can see that you feel something for my son, so I wonder why you two aren't together. Don't misunderstand me, I think very highly of Jasper, he's like a son to me, but I guess I am just confused Bella." I gawked at him, wondering where this guy came from and why the hell does everyone and their mothers continue to ask me what I'm doing with Jasper. Jesus this was getting annoying. How many times do I need to explain myself? "I'm sorry Bella; it's none of my business. I just want to see my son happy."

"No, it's fine sir." I tried gathering my thoughts, I needed a way to explain this without letting him in on the fact that his son was whoring around with everything with tits and I wasn't about to put myself in that situation. _I'm sorry sir, but you're son is an ass and screws anything with big tits and I just have more respect for myself than to be one of his conquests. Sorry._ Yeah, that would go over real well.

"Please call me Carlisle. Sir makes me feel ancient."

"Well, Carlisle, I can't deny being attracted to Edward, I mean you saw us kissing, but…" I was cut off by Edward coming back with an ice pack and what looked like an Ace bandage.

"Here you go. Let's sit you down and put some ice on that, then I'll wrap it up for you before you go home." He was so sweet and gentle I had a hard time putting the two pieces of him together. Maybe he was just acting this way because his father was here, or I guess it was entirely possible that's this is how he really is and he puts up a front to keep people away from him. "I forgot your water for your aspirin. I'm sorry Bella. I'll be back really quickly." He got up but before her left he kissed me on the forehead. It was very intimate and to anyone looking who didn't know any better they would for sure think we were a couple.

Once he was out of ear shot Carlisle spoke up again.

"I know Edward's reputation." I looked at him with wide eyes, how could he possibly know about that unless Edward told him. "I can tell you in no uncertain terms that things are not always as they seem. If you feel something for him, talk to him. It could be quite eye opening for you." This man was something else; every conversation with him so far has left me reeling. Edward came back with a bottle of water and some Tylenol so the conversation with his dad was over. I had a lot of thinking to do. Was he right? Did he really not do anything with all those girls? Who in their right mind would make it seem like they were leaving with skanky girls and not actually follow through with it just when they were out of sight? A crazy person, that's who. Was he just trying to make someone jealous? Was it me he was trying to make jealous. It just didn't seem feasible. I decided that his father was wrong. I know what I saw.

"Are you okay Bella?" Edward's voice broke me from my inner monologue and I snapped my attention back to him and his father.

"Yeah, just thinking. Sorry." A knowing smirk crossed Carlisle's face, I was a little annoyed.

"Here, take off the ice and let me see." He was so gentle with me, his touch was like a feather, had I not been watching I never would have thought he touched me, and well there was also the electricity that seemed to flow between us whenever he was touching me. "Looks good. I think we can wrap it now. Dad, what do you think?"

"Yes, it appears the swelling as gone down; wrapping it should be fine now. Remember to ice that when you get home though Bella and in the morning take two more Tylenol to help with the pain." I looked at him perplexed; I thought Edward was the doctor, why was he looking to his father for his opinion? "I'm a doctor as well Bella." Oh.

"Oh, okay." It was really all I had. The events of the day, Edward's proximity, the kiss, not to mention his father's words to me rendered me stupid.

Angela walked up to us, concern evident on her face as she took me in, I must have looked like hell. "Hey Bella. I'm going to pack up the karaoke equipment for you and take it to your car. I need your keys though." I fished through my purse for my keys, once I had them I handed them over to Angela, grateful for her help.

"I'll help you Angela." Edward said, leaving me alone again with his father. I wondered what other pearls of wisdom were going to come from him now that Edward wasn't in earshot.

"Edward tells me that you sing and write your own songs Bella. He says you're very talented."

"Uh, yes, I do. I wouldn't say I was talented though, mediocre at best." I told him. I really didn't see the bi g deal.

"That's not how Edward tells it and he's very particular when it comes to music, I'm actually surprised the he comes here." He said, looking around the room at all the drunken people talking to each other.

"Why is that?" He comes here twice a week, if he didn't enjoy it then why come at all?

"Edward is sort of a music snob I guess you could say. He started playing piano at the age of three and feels like the music that is popular now isn't really music."

"He seems to like Maroon 5." I said with a chuckle. Those songs were all sexually charged so I guessed that's why he liked them so much.

"Who?" His father asked, he hadn't heard of Maroon 5? I guess he was his dad after all. Huh!

"It's just this band. He sings their songs a lot."

"Hm, I'll have to check them out sometime. If Edward likes them, then they must be good." The thought of Carlisle listening to Maroon 5 was amusing. I wondered what his reaction would be to a song like Kiwi. The thought actually made me laugh out loud; Carlisle looked at me like I'd lost my mind. "You alright there?"

"Yeah. I'm good. Just thought of something funny is all." I hoped he didn't ask me what I was thinking because I didn't know if I could come up with anything that was even remotely funny to cover for my actual thoughts.

"Glad to see you laughing Bella. Are you ready to go?" When did Edward get back? "Dad, I'm going to take Bella home, here are my keys, can you follow us to her place?"

"Wait, what?" Why was he driving me home? I was fully capable of driving myself home.

"I'm driving you home Bella. My dad will follow us in my car and I'll go as soon as you're safely inside your apartment." He extended his hand to me, once mine was placed in his he helped me up out of the chair I was sitting in. When I got to my feet I was so close to him, I could feel his breath on me. I couldn't imagine what being in the close quarters of a car would be like with him, I was seriously going to lose it. "Come on." His hand went to the small of my back as we headed outside to my car.

"You know you don't have to drive me home. I think I can manage." I got into the passenger seat, fully relenting to him doing this for me even though my words said otherwise.

"Nonsense. You hurt your wrist, and I can tell you're a little shaken up, let me help you Bella. Besides Jasper would never forgive me if I left you to drive yourself home." Jasper, right. The thoughts of him kissing me earlier flooded my brain and suddenly I got mad, really fucking mad. We were already pulling out of the parking lot headed towards home when I figured I might as well lay it all out there.

"Were you thinking of Jasper when you were kissing me back there at the club?" I spat at him. He tensed, straightening his posture, eyebrows furrowed and lips pressed in a tight line. Looks like I hit a nerve.

"Were you? I didn't see you stopping it Bella." His voice filled with regret and venom at the same time.

"That's not the point and you know it. So what is it Edward? Is it the fact that I'm off limits, it's that what this is all about?"

"You have been flirting with me for months, don't try and act like this is all just one sided here." I huffed angrily. "Look I admit that I fucked up here, I should have asked you out a long time ago, but I was…"

"Too busy fucking every girl that saddled up to you at the bar?" I finished for him. I wanted to know why he went off with all those women if he wanted to ask me out all this time. It didn't make any sense.

"I didn't fuck those women."

"HA! Yeah right. I saw you leaving with them. They had their hands all over you. Do you really think I'm that stupid?" I was getting more and more infuriated with every word he spoke. He was clearly lying to me, but for what reason? To get into my pants? Well that was not happening anytime soon. I was happy with Jasper, a great guy who respected me.

"WOULD YOU LISTEN?" He yelled. He pinched the bridge of his nose, seemingly trying to calm himself before he spoke again. I just looked at him with my eyes wide and mouth agape. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I know what it looked like, but I can assure you Bella that I can count my sexual partners on one hand."

"Like I'm going to believe that. Actions speak louder than words Edward." We were almost back to my apartment and I couldn't wait to be out of the car with him, he was just so…so…UGH!

"I know. I don't know why I left with all those women, but I'm telling you the truth. I never slept with any of them, hell I could have had them any way I wanted, but every time one of them even tried to kiss me all I could think of was you so I stopped them." What? He thought of me?

"But you just kept doing it, night after night I'd see you leave with some new skank and…it killed me." The last three words were whispered. My head was down, looking at my wringing hands in my lap so I'm not even sure he heard the last part, not until his hands were on my face, urging me to look at him. We had stopped and were parking in front of my building; I hadn't even realized we got there. When I finally relented and looked at him what I saw made my anger melt. He looked so hopeful, but sad. I didn't want him to be sad so I gave him a slight smile, which he returned.

"I know. I'm a fucking idiot, but believe me when I say that ever since I walked into Eclipse two months ago and saw you I was done for. I guess the only reason I can think for me to leave with all those women was to see how you reacted. I know it was stupid, but I thought if I saw you get jealous I would know if I even had a shot, but you never seemed to care so I just kept on doing it, kept on seeing you there, flirting with you. I know it doesn't excuse anything and I know you're dating Jasper now and I'll respect that, but when you figure out that Jasper isn't the one for you…I'll be waiting for you." Edward pulled me to him and as our lips met I sighed in contentment. This is where I was supposed to be, I could feel it in my bones, and the only problem was that I wasn't sure if I believed him or not.

"I need to think. Jasper is an amazing guy and I can't hurt him. I'll think about what you said, but I am going to be honest with you, I'm not sure I believe you." His only response was to nod solemnly. If he could prove to me that he wasn't what I thought then maybe there was hope for us to at least be friends. He got out of the car and just as I was about to open my door he was there helping me out of the car.

"I'll see you on Thursday Bella. Goodnight." He kissed my forehead before handing me my keys and getting into his own car with his dad. I gave a slight wave and walked into my building. I felt weighed down with all this new information and I just wanted to crawl into bed and get some sleep. In the elevator I slumped against the wall lost in thought. When I walked out Tay was at my door leaving me a note.

"Oh thank God you're here. Angela called me and told me what happened. Are you okay?" Her small frame was suddenly flung at me, gripping me tightly.

"I'm fine. My wrist is sprained, and I am pretty sure I have bruises forming on my hip, but other than that I am fine." She released me only to look me over and check my wrist. I winced when she grabbed it, yeah that was going to hurt for a while.

"Sorry B. It was a good thing that Edward was there I guess. Angela told me that he pulled the guy off you just in time."

"He did. He also took care of my wrist and drove me home." I knew that little bit of information was going to have her on me for days, but she'd find out eventually anyway then I'd really be in for it.

"He did, did he? That's interesting."

"Tay, can we please talk about this tomorrow? I am emotionally and physically exhausted and all I want to do is take a shower and go to bed. I promise to tell you all the sorted details later, okay?" She seemed a bit upset that we couldn't talk about it now, but gave me hug telling me that she understood.

"Night B! I'll come by tomorrow to check up on you."

"Tanya! Baby, leave Bella alone and come take care of your husband. I want to see you in that little purple number again." Demetri's voice boomed down the hall. He was so loud and now I'm sure the whole building knew that he and Tay were about to have sex. Lucky girl.

"I'll be right there." She called out. "Night Bella."

"Night Tay. Have a good time." I winked at her then walked into my apartment. It was so quiet, one of the perks of living on your own, but then I thought about the fact that in a couple of weeks Alice would be here and Rose would be living with me. The light on my answering machine was blinking so I walked over to it and pressed play.

"Bella, it's Jasper. Edward called me and told me what happened. I'm so sorry I wasn't there sweetheart. I should have been there to protect you, but I am grateful that Edward took such good care of you and brought you home safely. Get some rest and call me in the morning. I'll be thinking of you beautiful." Just when I thought he had hung up he spoke again. "Oh, and I called your cell, but Angela picked it up, said you left it at the club and she wanted me to tell you. Okay, goodnight my sweet girl. I'll talk to you later." The machine gave a beep indicating that he had hung up. I immediately felt guilty at the sound of his voice. He had no idea that Edward and I had kissed and I felt as though I was betraying him, which I guess I had kissing Edward the way I had tonight.

I took a shower and got into bed, falling asleep quickly, my dreams were plagued with the kiss I shared with Edward. Even in my dream my body was on fire.

The rest of the week passed quickly. I had lessons with Peter again, went back to Eclipse and did the karaoke night, Edward wasn't there. For the first time in over 2 months he actually wasn't there and I have to say that I felt off. Emmett and Jasper came, said Edward had to go on a trip last minute so he couldn't make it tonight. It made me feel a little bit better to know he wasn't avoiding me, not that I should care. _You're dating Jasper, You're dating Jasper, You're dating Jasper._ It was my mantra all week as I went over Edwards words from Tuesday night. For some reason I was feeling like he was being honest with me and although it made me almost giddy at the thought of him wanting something with me I had to keep reminding myself that I was in fact dating Jasper. _You're dating Jasper, You're dating Jasper, You're dating Jasper._ Like I said, it had become my mantra all week.

Jasper and I had gone out a lot and he was still leaving me at the door with kisses that made me breathless. They weren't the same as Edward's kisses, his made my knees weak. Why am I thinking about this? _You're dating Jasper, You're dating Jasper, You're dating Jasper._ It was Monday night and oddly enough Jas and I were supposed to be going out again. I was just putting on my mascara when there was a knock on my door. I ran over to it, fully expecting to see my date standing there, but was surprised to see Jake instead.

"Bella, I need your help." Never one for formality he just barged into my apartment and made himself comfortable on the sofa.

"Come on in Jake. So nice to see you too." I said sarcastically.

"Yeah, yeah. Hi and all that. Look I need some help." He seemed almost frantic, had I not known him I would have been concerned, but this was Jake, he was usually frantic.

"So you said." I took a seat next to him, waiting for the words to spill from his mouth. Jasper was supposed to be here soon, not that I wanted to rush my friend; they all knew I was there for them.

"You know Paul's and my anniversary is next week, right?" I nodded, this is something they tell everyone upon meeting them, and then we are reminded ad nauseam weeks before said event. "Well, I'm having trouble finding something to get him. He _has_ everything, I'm at a loss here B. Help me, please?" He asked me, batting his unusually long lashes at me. The man had freakishly long lashes, to the point that Tay and I were convinced he was using one of those eyelash booster serums, you know like Latisse.

"I don't know why you are asking _me_ for shopping advice Jake; you know that's more Tay's territory." Shopping is like an Olympic sport to that girl, she could find exactly what she wanted in a ten mile radius for half the price. He gave me a look, the kind of look that told you you were absolutely insane, you know the one. "What? It's true. Jake I hate shopping."

"I can't go to Tay, she'll just tell me to get him some sexy underwear and to wrap myself up as a present and although I am not opposed to that idea, it's our anniversary. I need a gift that says 'I Love You'. You're more the sentimental type B."

"Jacob. I haven't been in a normal relationship in a very long time." He pulled out the big guns this time, the pouty lip mixed with the batting of the lashes. "How about this, I'll call Alice tomorrow and get some ideas from her. She's the shopper and she's got more of a romantic side than Tay."

He leapt towards me and hugged me fiercely saying thank you repeatedly. The knock on the door made him let me go, for which I was grateful since my air supply was rapidly dwindling.

"Thanks B. I'll let you get to Jas now." We both walked to the door, I opened it and sure enough there was Jas looking handsome as ever in black jeans and a forest green polo shirt. Jake gave me another hug; this one was less bone crushing and a kiss on the cheek before he left.

"Should I be jealous?" Jasper asked me with a quirked eyebrow. I just started laughing like it was the funniest thing I'd ever heard.

"Hardly. He came over looking for advice on what to get Paul for their anniversary."

"And he asked you?" In the short amount of time that we had been dating he was made aware of my hatred of all things shopping.

"Ha Ha! I told him I'd call Alice."

"I see, probably a smart idea. Ready to go sweetheart?" I love it when he calls me that.

"Sure am. Let me just grab my purse and coat. Where are we going anyway?"

"Dinner and I heard about this show at Benaroya Music Hall. It's supposed to be really good."

"That sounds absolutely perfect Jas." He always planned the best dates. He's a true romantic. Whoever snatches him up for the long term is going to be one lucky girl. _Why am I thinking about him being with someone else long term?_

"Shall we then my lady?" He extended his elbow to me so I could slip my hand through the crook of his arm. I took it graciously, laughing at his antics. He's too damn cute for his own good sometimes.

"So cheesy." I told him as he led me out to his car.

"It's all part of my charm sweet Bella."

The night was amazing. During dinner we talked about anything and everything, there was never a lull in the conversation. He made me smile and laugh the entire evening. The concert was better than I could have expected. He held my hand throughout the entire thing, giving me soft kisses on my temple, neck and lips. It was really sweet, he's really sweet.

Jasper was walking me up to my apartment, holding my hand and talking animatedly about learning to play the guitar. It seems he bought a really nice acoustic for his lessons.

"You know you didn't need to get top of the line, you probably should have gotten something cheaper in case you hate it." I didn't get a good guitar until I was a year into my lessons with Peter, even then it wasn't top of the line.

"Don't be ridiculous. How could I possibly not like playing the guitar? Think of all the chicks I'll get with that skill. And don't try to talk me out of the guitar, I already love it." I smacked his chest lightly for the picking up chicks comment, and we both started laughing.

"Thanks for tonight Jas, I had a great time." I told him once we reached my door. I unlocked it, standing seductively in the doorway. I was ready for more than just hot kisses at the door. "Would you like to come in? Maybe have a glass of wine?"

"Sure, that sounds great Bella." He looked a little surprised, but happy to be coming into my apartment. We hadn't spent much time in here together, but I was on a mission to rectify that.

After dropping my things on the hallway table I took off my shoes and wandered into the kitchen, Jasper was right behind me. I handed him the corkscrew and bottle of wine while I searched for my wine glasses. I hadn't used them in a while so they were in the back of the cabinet. I was standing on my tip toes and still couldn't reach them. "Shit." I muttered to myself. Jasper must have noticed my dilemma or heard me curse, because he was suddenly pressing himself right up behind me.

"What seems to be the problem Bella?" He breathed into my ear. I could feel every inch of him pressed into my back. I wanted nothing more than to arch back into him, but I didn't think it was a good idea since I wanted to take things slow with him.

"I can't…reach the glasses." My breathing was starting to pick up as well as my heart rate. I was certain he could hear it although he said nothing. He just reached up and got the two glasses I was looking for. "Thank you."

"No problem sweetheart." He crooned. Yes he actually crooned and normally I would find that ridiculous, but it just worked for Jasper. He backed up a bit to grab the wine. I held up the two glasses as he filled them with the amber liquid, and then took a glass for himself. My free hand found its way to his and intertwined our fingers before leading him to the sofa. We just sat and stared at each other as we sipped our wine. Not one word was spoken, but the tension was growing. He grabbed my glass and set it down on the table along with his. When he turned back to me his lips were on mine almost instantly. His hands were on both sides of my face, gently caressing my cheeks. The kiss started out sweet but the intensity grew in no time. His tongue peeked out and licked my lips gently. I parted my lips for him eagerly awaiting his tongue to massage my own and when it finally did I moaned at the feeling. He tasted like wine and cinnamon. I moved my hands to rub his chest, he hummed which only spurred me on to do more, so I slowly moved my hands up his chest, neck and finally rested in his shaggy blonde locks. His hands had moved to my waist and around my back, pulling me closer to him. I didn't think I could get close enough. In a bold move, very unlike me, I moved onto his lap. I could feel his smile on my lips as we kissed. I couldn't tell you how long we sat there making out, but what I can tell you was that it felt absolutely amazing. After Jamie I was afraid that I'd never be able to let anyone in, but here I was sitting on Jasper's lap making out like a couple of horny teenagers. Our kisses eventually slowed, making way for light caresses as we stared at each other, our foreheads touching. "I should go." Jasper said, I could tell he didn't want to go, I felt the same but it was too early for us to spend the night together.

"Yeah. Okay." I moved to get off his lap, but he just held me tighter. "You need to let me up if you want to get out the door." I giggled.

"Maybe I don't want to get out the door." He said honestly.

"I know, but I don't…I'm not.." I stuttered. His grip loosened allowing me to move, so I got up, extending my hand to him to help him up.

"I know Bella. Okay. I guess I'll talk to you later. Thank you for a great evening." He hugged me while we stood in front of the door, placing small kisses on my neck, chin, cheeks and nose.

"Thank you. Drive safely Jasper." He was out the door waving at me, even blew me a kiss for good measure. He was just too damn cute. Sighing against my now closed door I started walking to my bedroom to change into pajamas. I heard my phone go off, alerting me that I had a text message. Assuming it was Jasper I ran over to it, opening it quickly, but it wasn't from Jasper.

_Bella, I just wanted to make sure you were still doing alright, I know that sometimes, well never mind, I just want to make sure your wrist is healing, but I suppose I shall see for myself tomorrow night. Sweet dreams beautiful. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. – E_

He's been texting me every night to make sure I was okay. It was sweet actually, but the fact that he kept implying that I was going to lose it eventually because of the attack was making me feel like I was a ticking time bomb. To be honest I think I probably would have broken already if it weren't for the fact that I've been going to my therapist since the night of the attack, not to mention having a psychiatrist for a boyfriend, I've talked out my fears. Thursday night when I entered Eclipse I was a little weirded out and didn't want to go on stage, but Jasper and Emmett were both there, security had been beefed up a bit, from one bouncer to two, not much, but it made everyone feel slightly more at ease and the owner of the bar actually implemented a no tolerance policy for patrons who got out of hand. They would be held in one of the offices until the police came and charges would be pressed by the bar. I knew that man would never be allowed back in Eclipse and that helped too.

I decided to type out a quick reply to Edward thanking him for caring and then go straight to bed. A girl needs her beauty sleep.

_E-Thanks for your concern, yes I am fine. I've talked to my therapist a couple of times about the incident and I don't think I'll be jumping off a cliff any time soon. I'm hoping tomorrow night goes better than Thursday did and I really think it will, I'm a lot less nervous about it than I was on Wednesday. Thank you again for coming to my rescue. I'll see you tomorrow. Good night Edward, sweet dreams. – B_

I drifted off to sleep as soon as I snuggled into my covers, not stressing out about what tomorrow held.

** A/N: Okay, I know, I cockblocked you. You all probably thought that Bella and Jasper were going to have some sexy time, but Bella, she's just not ready for that, with anyone. Next chapter will have more of her back story with Jamie (I hope). Let's just say he did a number on our poor Bella, but I think she came out pretty damn good all things considered. She's strong but cautious with men.**

**Good night all my lovely readers, it's time for me to get some beauty sleep as well. Review, please. I'm not above begging. **


	7. Chapter 7

I own nothing, but the ideas in this story are mine. Now get going, Bella and Edward wait for no man or woman.

_Jamie and I had been dating for a month now, we saw each other practically every night. I was happy, I guess. He was a nice guy most of the time. Bree doesn't like him though and of course Jamie doesn't like Riley for some reason. He keeps telling me that he stares at me like I'm something to eat and he doesn't like it. I don't see it. Riley and Bree have been together for a long time and he's been nothing but devoted to my best friend the entire time. In fact I can't remember a time I'd ever seen him look at another woman. Jamie was a bit possessive and jealous, but he treated me well so I couldn't really complain. I did miss my friends though. I was in the middle of making dinner for us when Jamie came in; I gave him a key to my apartment a week ago, mostly because he insisted._

"_Smells good in here Babe. Whatcha makin?" He came up behind me, wrapping his hands around my waist, his head settling on my shoulder._

"_Beef Stroganoff. I hope you like it; it's one of my dad's favorites." He tensed behind me, for what reason I wasn't sure. I decided to change the subject before our entire night was ruined. "How was work?"_

_He relaxed behind me at the change of topic thankfully; I breathed a sigh of relief. I really didn't need him in one of his moods tonight; it was beginning to become an everyday occurrence. "It was alright. That bitch Julia has it in for me, I'm telling you. She walks around in her tight shirts with her tits practically hanging out acting like she owns the place. I hate her." _

"_Doesn't her father actually own the place Jamie? I don't think there's much you can do." I told him casually, not even thinking about what my words might do to him. Before I could even blink he had me pinned to the wall, his hand tightly around my neck. It was hard to breath and I was scared. What had I done? I made him angry, why did I have to make him angry?_

"_DON'T YOU EVER TELL ME THAT I CAN'T DO SOMETHING YOU STUPID BITCH! You're just as bad as her, you're worthless Bella." He growled at me. His face was so close to mine and he was spitting as he talked. I whimpered, my hands desperately trying to release his hold on me to no avail. I thought I might die until he finally let me go. I slumped to the ground gasping for air and crying. "You're lucky I even look at you, no other guy would put up with your shit Bella, just remember that." He pulled me up, his grip hard on my shoulders. "No-one but me will ever want you Bella. NO-ONE!" He knocked over the pot of dinner I had spent a hour making and told me to clean the mess up before he walked out the door and slammed it shut. I didn't know what to do so I sat there on the floor of the kitchen just crying until I eventually fell asleep. _

I was startled awake by the dream, my hand went straight to my neck, feeling the phantom pains from the memory of that night. Why I stayed with him after that I don't know. Yes I do, I was weak, I believed what he said, that no-one but him would want me and that I was in fact worthless. I tried to shake myself out of it, I couldn't dwell on that today, I had too much to do. I had my very first lesson to teach at Peter's shop, granted it was just Jasper, but still I wanted to do well with this. I quickly took a shower and made myself breakfast. The knock on the door didn't surprise me considering I was making blueberry pancakes and bacon. I knew Jacob and Paul would smell it and be over in a flash. "Come on in Jake." I called out from the kitchen.

"I'm not Jake and you really should check the peep hole before telling someone to come into your unlocked apartment." Edward. How did he get into the building and more importantly why is he here?

"How the hell did you get in the building?" I asked harshly. I wasn't expecting that to come out so bad, but his appearance was unexpected and not entirely unwelcomed and that worried me.

"Tanya let me in on her way out. She told me to just come on up." He walked into the kitchen, leaning against the door jam.

"Oh, okay, well what do you need?" I asked him. I wasn't comfortable with him here in my apartment all by ourselves. With the way my body reacted to him I wasn't sure him being here was a wise idea.

"Hmmm. What do I need? That's a loaded question Bella. I _need_ a lot of things, especially from you." Yeah this was definitely not a good idea. I could already feel the wetness pooling between my legs just from the tone of his voice and the way his eyes sparkled as he looked at me.

"Seriously Edward!" I hoped that my tone sounded more irritated than turned on so he'd get to the point and leave before something bad happened, or good depending on how you looked at it.

"Alright, alright. No need to get testy. I just wanted to come and check out your wrist, see how you were doing and all that." His excuse seemed flimsy considering he just saw me last night at Eclipse so I raised my eyebrow at him. "And I was hungry. I was hoping you'd join me for breakfast, but it appears you have that under control already."

"Mmmhmm. Right! Well I don't think Jasper would approve of me going on a date with one of his best friends, do you?"

"Who said anything about a date Bella? I just said breakfast; friends can go to breakfast without any romantic implications, can't they?" He had a point. He never said the word date, now I felt embarrassed so of course I blushed. "So are you just really hungry or do you usually make enough food to feed an army?" He gestured to the heaping plates of bacon and pancakes that I was working on.

"No, I usually have Jake and Paul barge in on me when I make the blueberry pancakes so I always make this many." As if on cue Jake and Paul came in without even knocking.

"I smell blueberry pancakes. You better have made enough for us Bell. Oh, hi! I didn't realize you had company Bella, we should…" Jake motioned for the door but I stopped them.

"No, its okay Jake, there's enough for everyone." I looked at Edward to speak to him. "Do you want to stay Edward? There really is plenty." I felt a little better with Jake and Paul here as a buffer, spending time alone with Edward in my apartment was definitely NOT a good idea.

"Uh, sure, if it's no trouble." He said, although he seemed reluctant, who would blame him though with the way Jake and Paul were eyeballing him.

"It's no trouble at all." I didn't dare look at any of them; I could feel three sets of eyes burning a hole in my head, no need to look since I know they would all want some sort of answers from me.

"Well since Bell here has somehow lost her manners I guess I'll introduce myself. I'm Paul and this is Jake, we live just down the hall." I blushed again of course, how could I forget to make introductions? Oh that's right Edward turns my brain into mush.

"Edward Cullen. Nice to meet you Paul…Jake."

"How do you know our sweet Bella here Edward?" Paul asked, I looked at the three of them since they were now involved in conversation and therefore paying no attention to me. Jake was leaning on the wall eying Edward with his arms crossed over his chest. Paul was just in outside the kitchen in the hall and Edward had his back to me, trapped in the kitchen. I took a moment to appreciate the view of his ass as he was talking to the guys. He really has a nice ass. I want to bite it and maybe squeeze it and possibly lick it and other things too. Mmmm, yeah that sounds good. _Stop it Bella. Bad, bad Bella._

"Bella?"

"Huh?" I answered lamely, my eyes were still on Edward's ass and I think I might have been drooling a bit.

"Did you want that pancake extra crispy or were you just too distracted checking out Edward's ass?" Jake asked chuckling at me. Ass.

"SHIT!" I turned back to the pancakes; I could feel my whole body heating up in embarrassment. Fucking Jacob. Paul and Edward laughed so I flipped them off. I'm surrounded by nothing but assholes, I swear. I felt him come up behind me, hands settling on my hips, his breath hot on my ear as he whispered to me.

"It's okay Bella. I get distracted checking out your ass all the time." He pulled away, slapping me on said ass just for good measure. Like I said, I'm surrounded by assholes. I really needed to get my shit together. I'm dating Jasper for crying out loud, I shouldn't be getting worked up over Edward or checking out his ass. I also shouldn't be singing songs to him at karaoke nights when Jasper isn't around, yeah that's really bad. BAD, BAD Bella. Okay, here's my game plan. I will one, concentrate on Jas. Two, not flirt with Edward, three not check out Edward's ass, four definitely NOT sing songs to or about Edward. Yeah, that's a good plan a really good plan. I finished up making the pancakes and brought them into the dining room. Paul, Jake and Edward were already seated making themselves coffee and pouring themselves some juice, looking at me expectantly. They already had heaps of bacon on their plates. Men!

"Jesus guys, did you save me any fucking bacon?" Edward at least had the decency to remove a couple of pieces off his plate onto mine. "Thank you Edward. At least there's one gentleman in MY apartment." I muttered "assholes" under my breath.

After the plate of pancakes was set on the table we all dug in, there was no sound other than all of us chewing our delicious breakfast. I make a mean pancake, what can I say.

"Holy fuck Bella, these are the best pancakes I've ever had." Edward practically moaned. Geez that noise should not be doing these things to my girly bits. Everyone was staring at me; I realized where I just allowed my thoughts to go and blushed, giving myself away. Fuck!

"Thanks Edward."

Jake and Paul cleaned everything up for me like they usually do so it was just me and Edward sitting on my couch drinking coffee.

"So, uh. Thanks for breakfast. It was really good." Edward seemed nervous, probably for the same reasons as me; I mean Jas is one of his best friends. "Did you..uh. Shit. I don't know what to do here."

I was utterly confused. "Wh-what are you talking about?"

He turned in his seat so he was now facing me. He took my hands in his, it felt nice, but I needed to pull them away because I am dating Jas, however my body would not listen to my brain and my hands stayed in his.

"Did you get my note?" His note? What the hell is he talking about? "The note I left you the other night, before you got attacked by that guy." Oh. That note. I still hadn't read it with all the craziness going on for the past few days.

"I got it, but I haven't read it. I actually forgot about it. I'm sorry."

"Oh, it's okay. That's good actually. Can you just throw it away instead of reading it?" He asked, looking right into my eyes.

"I guess, but can I ask why?"

"It's not important. I just shouldn't have said what I did in that note. It would really mean a lot to me if you would just forget about it." He looked in my eyes again, but this time it was more intense. "Please Bella."

"Yes. Yes, of course Edward. I'll rip it up and throw it away." I lied, I was so reading that shit the minute I remembered where I put the damn thing.

"Thank you Bella. Look it's getting late and I have rounds in a little bit so I have to get going. Thank you again for the pancakes. They were great." We both got off the couch and I walked him to the door. Jake and Paul were still cleaning up in the kitchen. They said goodbye to Edward before he walked out the door, giving me a kiss on the cheek. "Bye Bella. See you Tuesday."

"Bye Edward. Have a good day at work." Back in the kitchen the boys were almost done cleaning up thank goodness, because I had crap to do.

"That man is a hot piece B." Jake said just as he dried the last pan. Paul put it away and they were done.

"Yeah, he's alright."

"B, he's more than alright and I know you see it. I can tell there's something brewing between you two."

"In case you have forgotten I am dating Jasper. You know blond guy, amazing blue eyes and southern drawl." I told him, getting highly irritated. I had a plan and I did not need Jake all over my ass about Edward.

"Yes, I know, but B." He huffed, pausing to think over his words. "You know what, never mind. It's none of my business."

"No, tell me. You have something to say then say it." A part of me really didn't want to hear what he had to say, but he was really getting on my nerves.

"No, you're right. You're with Jasper." He turned away from me, looking at Paul, who had a sympathetic expression on his face. "You ready to go hon?"

Paul simply nodded, giving me a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Don't listen to him Bell. If you're happy with Jasper that's all that matters." They were both gone now, leaving me to stew in what they said. Was I happy with Jasper? Yes, he's a great guy, smart, funny and hot as hell and boy could that man sing.

I finally moved my ass and went to see Peter at the new shop; he was setting up all the instruments in different rooms. The walls were decorated with pictures of all the greats. Miles Davis, Nate King Cole, Jimmy Hendricks. You name it; they were plastered on the wall along with some beautiful guitars and basses that he was planning on selling. "Wow Peter, it looks amazing in here."

"Oh hey Bella. Thanks. It does look rather amazing in here doesn't it?" He looked around admiring his handiwork. "I have your schedule ready if you want it. I already have a couple of clients set up for you, including your friend Jasper."

"That's great Peter." An hour later I was on my way back home with my schedule in hand. I only had two students, including Jasper. The other one was a girl named Jane who wanted to learn the paino, her lessons were set up for every Wednesday afternoon and Jasper was scheduled for Monday nights. My weeks were going to be crazy, especially if I got any more students. I could handle it though. Tay was waiting for me at my door when I got home.

"Hey you! What are you doing out in the hallway?"

"Bella, thank God. I've been waiting forever." I gave her a look that said I didn't believe her; Tanya had a flair for the dramatics. "Okay, maybe only five minutes."

"What's going on Tay?" She followed me into my apartment, heading straight for the couch. I put my things down and grabbed a bottle of water and went over to take a seat next to her. I stared at her, waiting for her to talk.

"Okay, so at the end of the month…"

"OH NO! I just sang, you know I only do that for you twice a year." I was whining and I knew it.

"BEL-LLLAA. Please. I know you have new stuff and I really need you. Demetri said to pay you double if that's what it takes." Now she was whining, it was a whine fest. I knew what was coming next, the pout.

"Tay. Seriously?"

"Come on B, you know you can't refuse me."

"The hell I can't. Tay, honestly, I'm so busy right now. I start teaching next week at Peter's new place and I have karaoke nights. There's no way I can get new songs ready by then." I argued.

"Bella, come on. I know you have stuff ready. I don't know why you make me do this every time when you just end up giving in." Her tone was irritated, she hated begging me. It's not that I liked having her beg me to do this, I really just did not like performing my own stuff in front of people, that's all there is to it. "Don't make me go back to Demetri without a yes B. Please."

The doorbell rang at that moment and I have never been so happy to have someone at my door than I was at that moment. That was until I opened the door and saw Demetri standing there.

"Hey Bella. Did Tanya ask you about singing?" He asked.

"I did ask her and she of course is making it hard on me, as usual." Tanya said from the couch.

"Bella, Bella, Bella. You know you're going to say yes, so what do ya say we just drop the shit and do it already?"

"UHHHH, you two are impossible." They both smiled at me, knowing they've won. I really hate when they team up on me.

"Look, B. There's something else." I groaned but then looked up at them, waiting for them to continue. "Demetri, why don't you tell her?"

"Okay, so here's the thing. Our Saturday night regular quit on us and we're looking for a replacement. The pay is good, everyone loves you every time you sing and I swear to you Bella, every God Damn time you play there are so many fucking people asking about you it's insane." Demetri stopped talking then, looking at me as all of what he said went through my brain. I got what he was saying, and I have to admit that part of me liked the idea of singing every Saturday, even though it scared the shit out of me perform my own stuff, but could I do it? Did I have enough material to sing once a week?

"So what you're saying is…"

"We want you to be our regular Saturday night singer." Tay shouted out, bouncing in her seat.

"Why are you bouncing around, not that I'm not enjoying the view babe, but she hasn't even said yes….yet." Demetri gave me a wicked grin topped off with one of his signature winks. Damn charming bastard. He could charm the pants, er robe, off the Pope and I'm not even kidding and damn he's hot. If he weren't married to Tay I'd totally jump on that happy stick. And to answer the question I know you all are thinking, yes I have seen his happy stick, a few times and Tay is a _very_ lucky woman. That's all I'm saying.

"So how much are we talking about?" I asked, Tay squealed as she launched herself at me and Demetri, well he just gave his all knowing smile that told me he knew I was going to do it all along. We talked about the pay and the schedule and what was expected, turns out it was more money than I thought and believe me it was going to be nice not having to rely on just my measly little karaoke night paycheck and not have to dip into Granny Swan's money. I would need to sing at least 4 original songs then I can do covers for the remainder of the hour I needed to perform. Demetri suggested that I get someone to back me up on drums or bass or something, but I wasn't so sure about teaching someone else _my_ songs.

"I understand your hesitance Bell, but at least think about it for the covers. I can help you find someone if you want. We can even hold auditions at the club. You don't have to teach anyone your own stuff if you don't want to." Demetri came over and wrapped his arms around me, kissing the top of my head. "Think about it, okay. I gotta run, I have a delivery of liquor coming in a couple of hours at the club that I need to get ready for. I'm really happy you agreed to do this Bell, it'll do wonders for your singing career, trust me." With one last squeeze he was gone and it was just Tay and I.

"What have I gotten myself into?" I groaned into my hands. Tay rubbed my back to help me calm down, but remained quiet as I worked through this. It was going to be good for me, like Demetri said; I just had to get over the insecurity part that told me that everyone was going to hate my stuff.

"I know what you're thinking B, and everyone is going to love your stuff just like they always do. You are so talented B; you just have to believe in yourself. I love you, but sometimes you can be so self deprecating. You have to have confidence in yourself. Hell if Demitri didn't think you could do this and do this well he would never have offered you the regular Saturday night spot. Trust me." She continued to rub my back as I soaked in her words. She was right, every time I performed my own stuff I got a good reaction.

"You're right Tay."

"I know I am." She gave me a big smile then a hug. "I have to go B. Are you going to be okay?"

Rolling my eyes at her I got up to walk her to the door. "I'll be fine Tay. Go have some hot monkey sex with your man."

Her eyes glazed over, obviously thinking about doing just that and I laughed, smacking her shoulder. "Get out of here." I laughed.

"Bye B. Love you."

"Love you too Tay."

The rest of the day passed smoothly. I worked on some new songs, watched some mindless TV and baked cookies. I was surprised that Jake or Paul hadn't barged in as they were baking demanding I hand them over. I was cleaning up around the apartment when there was a knock on the door. I opened it to reveal a very wet Jasper.

"Why are you wet?" I asked him, paying no mind to the fact that he was here unannounced.

"It's pouring outside Bella."

"Oh." I said lamely. I guess I hadn't been outside all evening. "I've been working on some songs all night so I didn't even notice." I noticed we were still in the doorway so I backed up and opened the door a little wider to let him in. "I'm so rude. Come on in Jasper."

"Thanks. I hope this is okay. I just really missed you and wanted to see you." He was too damn sweet for his own good.

"No, it's fine. I'm happy you're here. I missed you too." We walked into the apartment, I followed behind him noticing just how soaked he was. I told him to hold on and I called Jake to ask him to bring up some clothes. He of course asked what it was for so I told him. He said he'd be right up with something that would fit Jas.

"I called Jake, he's bringing up some dry clothes for you to borrow."

"Thanks Bella." He was on the leather chair reading a magazine about guitars as he waited for me.

"Here's a towel. You can go use the bathroom if you want. Jake will be here in a minute and I can just bring you the clothes if you want to go dry off." I felt so bad that he came all the way over here and now he was probably miserable and cold with all his clothes soaked. On his way to the bathroom he gave me a soft kiss and said thank you for taking care of him. "Do you want some tea or coffee to warm you up?" I shouted in the direction of the bathroom.

Jasper's head popped out from behind the door, I could see his bare chest peeking out from behind the door and suddenly it was very warm in here.

"Tea would be perfect. Thank you Bella." I shook my head once he closed the door so I could make the damn tea.

"Bell?" Jake's voice boomed from the entryway.

"In the kitchen Jake." He came in with some folded clothes in his hand. "Thanks for bringing those. Jas will be glad to be in dry clothes I'm sure."

"No problem Bell. You know I'd do anything for you." He looked around, almost like he was looking for something then leaned in to me. "So how does the boyfriend feel about Edward coming over for breakfast this morning?" He whispered, and then turned again to make sure the coast was clear.

I laughed, he was ridiculous. "You're ridiculous and I haven't told him yet."

"Mmmhmm."

"Oh shut it. He literally just got here, as if you didn't know you peeping Tom."

"HEY! I resemble that remark." His smile was infectious so I smiled too.

"I'll tell him in a bit, it's no big deal anyway. He just came over to check my wrist." I was trying like hell to play it off like it was no big deal, but Jake wasn't buying it. Damn it! Why can I never get anything past him, or Paul or Tay for that matter?

"Riiiiiiight. Okay, well Paul is waiting for me, so I'll talk to you later. Love ya bitch."

"See ya Jake." The tea kettle was whistling now so I poured the scalding hot water into the two mugs I set out and let the tea seep. Taking Jakes clothes in my arms I went over to the bathroom to give them to Jas to put on.

Knock, knock.

"Hey. Thanks for the clothes. Make sure to thank Jacob for me as well. I'll be right out darlin." I settled myself on the couch with both mugs of steaming hot tea and waited. I wasn't waiting long. Jasper came out wearing Jake's clothes that seemed to fit him okay, don't get me wrong, they were still too big for him cause Jake is HUGE, but it's not like he looked like a kid playing in daddy's closet, you know what I mean? "Don't laugh Bella."

"What? I wasn't laughing." I held back a snicker just for his benefit.

"Yeah, yeah. I look like a fucking dwarf in these clothes, but at least they're dry." He took a seat next to me, then leaned over and gave me a nice kiss. It was sweet and no tongue involved, but he lingered on my lips. His hand came up to cup my cheek and used his thumb to rub my jaw. He is such a great kisser. "I've missed you."

"Mmmm. I missed you too." Like always our conversation was easy and fun, full of teasing, maybe a little more kissing but mostly just getting to know each other. Being with Jas was like be with your best friend, but you get to kiss this friend. BONUS! "So, uh, Edward came by this morning."

"Did he? What for?" He set his mug down on the coffee table and turned his body towards me on the couch.

"He came to check out my wrist, but he stayed for breakfast with Jake and Paul." I told him.

"Well that was nice of him. Edward doesn't usually make house calls though, he must like you." I was a bit taken aback by what he just said. I mean it's obvious that Edward is attracted to me, but did he tell Jasper? I don't think he would do that. "He does that sometimes for Em and I if it's nothing serious. Edward's a great friend to have Bella."

"Yes, he is." I wasn't really sure what else to say so I just left it that. He looked at me like he expected me to say something else before he started talking again.

"Your friend Alice is coming soon isn't she?"

"Uh, yeah. Two weeks and counting." I was so excited to have Alice come visit, she was like my sister. Rose called earlier in the week and said she was moving next weekend, so both my girls would be here at the same time. We were going to have so much fun. "Rose is moving in next weekend too. I'm so excited to have my girls back."

"Let me know if you guys need any help getting her settled in next weekend. I'm completely free." Jasper offered to help, that's so sweet of him. He is like the perfect guy. "I have something to talk to you about Bella."

I looked at him feeling like this wasn't going to be something I wanted to hear. "Oookay."

"Don't freak Bella. I just have to go out of town in two weeks, right when…"

"When Alice is supposed to be here." I finished for him.

"Yeah. I'm sorry. I know you were excited about me meeting her, but this is something I can't get out of." He paused, rubbing my hands in between his own. "Are you mad at me?"

"What? NO! Of course not. Disappointed, yes, but I'm not mad. It's not your fault. You'll meet her next time she's in town."

"Are you sure it's okay? That we're okay?" My head was down, suddenly finding my hands very interesting. I wasn't really all that upset about him not being here to meet Alice and I couldn't figure out why. He's my boyfriend; I should be more upset about this. His face came into view in front of my hands; he obviously had gotten off the couch to look at me since I was refusing to look at him. "Bella."

"Yes, we're fine, promise." It was the truth.

"Okay. Good." He got back up on the couch next to me, as I looked into his eyes I could see the burning desire in them, it was all for me. How did I get so lucky? "Now I think I'd like to continue with the kissing. My tongue misses yours…a lot." He leaned in and we were kissing again. His tongue was demanding, taking over the kiss, which was just fine with me. My hands found the hem of the shirt he was wearing and removed it. His lips were back on mine as soon as it was on the floor. He did the same with my shirt and soon I was sitting in just my bra, his hands lightly squeezing my breasts as his lips assaulted my neck. God this feels good. My hands explored the plains of his chest, he was so muscular and hard under my hands, I moaned when my fingers reached his happy trail. I wondered if Edward's chest was anything like this? Was his chest hairy, did he have a six pack or jesus an eight pack? Holy hell now I was thinking about Edward, shirtless and did it suddenly get hotter in here? My fingers went to the sweatpants he was wearing, grazing the inside under the elastic waistband.

"Holy fuck Bella." Jasper moaned and that's when it hit me, full fucking force and I pulled away. "Bella? Are you okay? What's wrong darlin?" He sounded panicked. What was wrong? How could I tell him that I was thinking of Edward as we were making out? I couldn't.

"Hmm? No, I'm fine. I just…have a headache is all." I lied.

"Okay, let me go grab you some aspirin. I'll be right back sweetheart." He got up; going into the kitchen then came back with a glass of water and two aspirin.

"Thank you. I'm sorry Jas. I didn't mean to kill the mood."

"It's alright, I don't think we're ready to go any further and if we hadn't stopped right then I wouldn't have had the control to not take you right here on your couch." He laughed, rubbing my neck.

"Yeah, you're right. It is getting late." Please take the hint so I can wallow in my own ridiculous thoughts.

"Yes it is getting late. I should go." At the door he kissed me, just a quick peck and told me he'd see me later and I closed the door once he was out of sight.

Back in my own bed, in my nice clean sheets I let my thoughts wander back to Edward. I was really horny as I thought about what lay beneath those clothes of his so I just had to take care of it.

Finally feeling sated I drifted off to sleep and didn't wake up until the bright morning sun woke me up. The weekend went by with making arrangements with Rosalie for her move, cleaning out her new room, which was currently being used for storage. Tay came over and helped me out as well as Jake since Paul was off working all weekend. Jacob was excited to hear that I would be singing at Requiem regularly, said he'd be there every Saturday night for support, I am really lucky to have such great friends.

Monday evening was my first lesson, guitar with Jas. He brought his fancy guitar with him and took to it better than I had expected. He said he researched notes and things on the internet before starting lessons so he at least had some idea of what he was doing and I have to give him credit, it actually paid off for him and made our first lesson go rather smoothly. I only hoped Jane took the lessons as seriously. We kept things strictly professional for the entire hour of the lesson, but once we were outside of the shop he gave me a scorching kiss before asking me to have dinner with him, which I readily agreed to. I was starving.

Tuesday turned out to be rather boring, I mainly just cleaned up around the apartment, trying to finalize everything for Rose's move this weekend, and then I headed off to Eclipse for karaoke night. I saw Emmett, looking rather happy and talking animatedly to Jas and Edward at their usual table with half a pitcher of beer sitting in the middle of the table. Jas saw me first and waved, Em started bouncing up and down and Edward, well his gaze stayed on me for longer than it should have been for someone who was just my friend. When he finally looked away I got back to work. There were some good singers and some bad ones as usual, Emmett came up and sang "Master and Servant" by Depeche Mode, which killed me. Who knew he had that in him? Jas came up and sang too and as usual rocked it. Who knew "Better Man" by Pearl Jam could sound so soulful? Edward decided to have Jas and Em help him with "Nookie" by Limp Bizkit and about peed my pants from laughing so hard. Once everyone was cleared out and the equipment was put away Jas helped me to my car. We kissed by the car but that's as far as it went. I wasn't quite sure where this was going with Jas. The kissing was nice, really nice, but I knew I wasn't ready for it to go any further than that and if I am being completely honest with myself I'm not sure I'll ever be ready for us to have sex. Do you think that's bad, to not want to have sex with your boyfriend? Probably right?

The next week flew by in a flurry, nothing spectacular happening. I worked with Jasper and Jane not to mention working my usually nights at Eclipse; Rose was busy getting everything settled so she could start her new job next week. We bonded with shopping, movies and manicures. She even came to Eclipse for karaoke night on Thursday, she didn't sing, just sat with Emmett, Jasper and Edward the whole time and afterwards we all went out to dinner, well everyone but Edward, he said he had an early morning. We were getting ready for hurricane Alice to touch down on Saturday, making sure the apartment was clean as well as the sheets for the pull-out sofa she'd be sleeping on while she was here. Having Rose here was great, we even went to the grocery store together to get things we'd both like and also the essentials for the girls night we were planning with Alice, you know ice cream, chocolate syrup, whipped cream; the canned kind so we can squirt it in our mouths, yeah that's the stuff. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes stuff needed for girl's night in; popcorn, Cheetos and real full sugar soda, and of course your typical girlie movies, we were partial to Molly Ringwald so we stocked up on _Sixteen Candles_, _Pretty in Pink_ and the ever popular _Breakfast Club_, we were all set for Alice's arrival once Saturday finally came; she was due any minute actually. Just as I thought it the door burst open and Alice walked in with all the grace and loudness that only Alice could bring. The Energizer Bunny, that one is. The next few days were going to be great.

A/N: I'm glad to have finally gotten this chapter done, I've had some writers block which absolutely sucks. I have a request from all you lovely readers, I need songs. Anything you can think of that would be fun for karaoke or maybe for Bella to sing. I can tell you that this story is going to be going full steam ahead at this point and I'm pretty sure we all know who Bella is going to end up with, so yeah any song recs are welcome and appreciated.

If you could take a few minutes to review I would love that as well. Next chapter will be fun with the girl's night in and lots of gossip. I've been inspired this week, thanks to the new CD I bought for my daughter. Oh and if you haven't done so already, go out and buy Taylor Swift's new CD, it's so good and I am NOT a country fan. AT ALL. My 3 ½ year old loves her and actually was her for Halloween, it was awesome!


	8. Chapter 8

**As much as I adore this particular story I am starting to think you guys don't like it. I got one review on the last chapter, how sad is that? Alright, so I have the next chapter done, it just needs to be edited, so here's the deal, if I can't get more reviews on this then I am going to just post the next chapter and be done, which makes me very sad because I really like writing this and things are going to start getting really good. If you want this to continue then please review, I know it's rather pathetic to sit here and beg for you guys to review, but come on it takes like 30 seconds. **

**I of course own none of the Twilight characters as always. I know, I'm sad about it too. Please enjoy and tell me what you think afterwards, k? Okay!**

_**Just a little side note, I did post this chapter earlier and then took it down. I wasn't too happy with some things so I changed them. If you read the chapter earlier this evening, please re-read it so it flows with the rest of the story as it progresses. Thanks!**_

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"BELLLLLLAAAA, ROOOOOSSSSEEEE!" Alice creamed for the foyer.

"ALIIIIIIIII!" Rose and I screamed as we both raced to the door where our little pixie of a best friend was setting down her bags. We all launched ourselves at each other at the same moment, hugging and crying tears of joy; don't ask me why, it's just what we do. We even cry if we saw each other the night before. It's ridiculous, we know, but this is us take it or leave it.

"Oh my God, I've missed you girls." Alice squeezed us a little harder and we squeezed back. It was great to have the three of us back together again. "So I have some exciting news you guys."

We broke our group hug and moved into the apartment. Alice and Rose went into the living room while I got us some wine in the kitchen.

"Okay, spill." Rose said.

"Wait until I get in there at least." I didn't want to miss anything so I hurried with the wine, brought it into the living room and took a seat on the couch. "Okay, go."

"Alright, so as you both know I broke up with Marcus and let me just tell you girls that it was the best decision I've ever made. He took me for granted. Asshole. Anyways, I was at the airport waiting for my flight when I saw the hottest piece of man I have EVER laid eyes on. Tall, blonde, lanky, but you could tell by the way his clothes fit him that he worked out." Rose and nodded, engrossed in what she was telling us. "I had this weird feeling, like a pull to him; do you know what I mean? I had about forty minutes until my flight was even boarding so I followed him."

"You didn't? Oh my god Alice!" I yelled "SHUT UP!" and Rose yelled at the same time. It was typical Alice though so we really weren't surprised.

"Oh I did!" She took a sip of wine before continuing on with her tale of airport stalking. "I followed him all the way to the other side of the airport. He was just about to get on the escalator to go to baggage claim and I knew I just had to stop him and somehow talk to him, if only for a minute, so I yelled, 'Hey! Wait.' Everyone in the airport turned to look at me like I was some sort of freak, but he stopped and looked back at me so I didn't really care if a bunch of people I'd never see again thought I was crazy. I finally reached him and told him to call me and gave him my name and phone number on a slip of paper then walked back to my gate seeing as my little excursion took me 20 minutes. I looked back at him and he was staring at me with the cutest smile I have ever seen. He's gonna call, I can feel it."

"That has to be the craziest thing I have ever heard. What if he has a girlfriend or a wife?" I hated to burst her bubble, but a guy like she was describing had to have someone, all the good ones are always taken.

"I'm not worried about it silly Bella, plus I checked the ring finger and that baby was bare. This guy and I are meant to be, I can feel it in every part of me." She sipped her wine casually, like she really was serious. You had to hand it to her, she had confidence, I could never do something like that.

"Ok, so enough about me, I want to hear about your men. Tell me all about this Jasper Bella, from what you told me he seems really great."

I went on to tell her all about Jasper and she listened intently, oohing and aahing at all the right places. It was nice to talk about boys like we used to. "So when do I meet him?"

"Oh well, he's away at a conference so you won't get to meet him this trip. He sends his apologies by the way."

"Ahh, so sweet. Okay, so I don't get to meet him this time, but I definitely will when I move back in a month." She had said it so off handed like it was nothing. I about spit my wine all over her.

"WHAT!" Rose screeched as I tried not to shoot wine out of my nose, which would seriously hurt.

"Oh, did I not mention it?"

"No, you bitch you've been here for two hours and you haven't said one word about moving back home. What the hell Ali?"

"Sorry guys. I'm starting up my own line, my old boss is actually backing me and she said she would support me where ever I wanted to start up the business so I decided on here. I miss you girls too much to stay away any longer." This ended in another group hug, we were all so excited.

"Where are you going to live?" I asked her, I didn't have enough room here for all three of us, as sad as that was, but I knew I wanted Ali close. I wondered if there was an available apartment in this building.

"I haven't thought that far ahead yet. I'm thinking of renting one of those shops with the apartments above it. I'm going to have to get a realtor to help me find something next time I come out."

We all talked some more about Alice's impending move and of course Rosalie talked about Emmett, Alice gushed over how happy she was for both Rose and I. We were all getting loud from the three bottles of celebratory wine we drank, so when my neighbor started pounding on the walls at two am we decided to call it a night. We decided to continue the celebrating with brunch in the morning. Rose was inviting Emmett; I just hoped he didn't bring Edward along. I was trying really hard to avoid him at all costs.

Alice and I were at the restaurant sipping champagne while we waited for Rose and Emmett. She had driven over to his place to pick him up an hour earlier so they could spend the day together after brunch. I had to give it to them, they were pretty solid for only being together a short amount of time, and they were adorable.

"Are you really okay with this?" Alice asked out of the blue. I was confused at what she was referring to so I gave her a puzzled look and asked her what she was talking about. "Rose and Emmett. I know you were dating him before Rose got here. I can't imagine that being easy for you."

"Oh no, Ali. Wait until you see them together, they are utterly perfect for each other. How can I possibly stand in the way of that? Besides Emmett was more like a big brother to me than anything romantic, it was literally like kissing my brother." I shivered at the thought. I couldn't imagine kissing him now or God forbid anything else.

"Just making sure Bell. I've got your back ya know."

I patted her hand and smiled at her, she really was the best. "I know Ali. I love you."

"Love you too." Rose and Emmett strolled in then hand in hand and quickly spotted us. They took their seats and Rose made introductions. Alice seemed like she was at a loss for words, which never happens. "H-hi. Wow, look at your hands, their HUGE, good for you Rosalie." She slapped her hand over her mouth as her eyes widened in horror. "Oh God, I didn't mean…shit, way to make a first impression."

Emmett laughed, loudly at her outburst and clapped her on the shoulder. "It's alright squirt. Rose warned me about your lack of filter and I'll take what you said as a compliment."

Brunch went smoothly and thankfully Emmett hadn't in fact invited Edward. I really didn't feel like dealing with that awkwardness today in front of Alice, she would know there was something was going on, not that there actually was anything going on, but you know what I mean. My cell phone ringing brought me out of my musing. I smiled with the screen flashed with Jasper's face. "I'll be back guys. Jas is calling." The three of them all made kissy noises at me drawing the attention of everyone in the restaurant; they were so embarrassing when they drank. I accepted the call and walked out to the front of the restaurant to speak with him as fast as I could since EVERYONE was staring at me.

"Hey Jas." I said with a sigh.

"Hey sweetheart. Having a good time with your friend?" He asked.

"Yeah, I am. I'm sad that you aren't here though. She really wants to meet you."

"I promise I'll meet her next time sweetheart." He sighed into the phone. "So what are you girls doing?"

"Right now we're having brunch at Madison's. Emmett's here making quick work of sweeping Ali off her feet with his hilarity."

"Yes, well he is pretty damn funny." He laughed, no doubt thinking of something Emmett has done or said during the time he's known him. I bet there are some great stories. I'd have to ask him about it sometime.

"That he is. You'll get your chance to meet her again in a month by the way."

"Oh yeah? She's coming back for another visit then?" He asked. He seemed a little distracted, but I just thought maybe he was tired, he did fly out yesterday and had things going on today. Poor baby.

"Actually she's moving back here and starting her own line. She just told us last night."

"Well that's great darlin. I'm glad all your friends are moving back, I know how much you've missed them. Listen I wanted to talk to you about something when I get home." That didn't sound promising.

"Um, okay. Is everything alright?"

"Don't worry sweetheart, everything is fine. It's nothing bad, I promise. Can I take you out to dinner on Wednesday?"

"Sure Jas. I can't wait to see you. I really miss you." I told him honestly. I was going to worry about what he wanted to talk about until Wednesday though. I had a feeling whatever it was wasn't going to be good news.

"I miss you too. I can't wait to come home to those pouty pink lips of yours darlin." I giggled, he's just so….Jasper.

"Well these pouty pink lips can't wait to see you either Jas."

"Mmmm, just thinking about them makes me want to get on the next flight back home." I heard someone call his name in the background. "Shit, as much as I would love to continue this conversation I gotta run, their calling me. Have fun with your friends and tell everyone hello for me."

"Okay. Bye Jas."

"Bye sweetheart. See you Wednesday night." He hung up before I could say anything else. I sat there for a minute staring at the phone, wild ideas running through my head. What could he want to talk to me about? It couldn't be bad if he was talking about my lips, right? Yeah, it was probably nothing. I got up, brushed off my skirt and went back to my friends to finish brunch. They were all laughing when I finally settled back into my chair. I drained my now full glass of champagne in one swig, Alice noticed.

"Are you okay Bella?" She whispered at me. Rose and Emmett were busy feeding each other, so they didn't pay any attention to us.

"Yeah. Fine." She gave me a stern looking letting me know she knew I was full of it but didn't press it. I figured she'd grill me when we were back at the apartment though and sure enough as soon as we stepped inside she started with the questions. I told her everything and she looked just as confused as I felt.

"I don't think you need to worry about anything sweetie. The fact that he was talking about your lips right after makes me think it has nothing to do with your relationship. Maybe he has to travel more or something. I wouldn't stress out over it."

"Thanks Ali. I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right. I usually am, especially when it comes to looooooooove." She then started making kissy sounds, her lips pursed at me and her eyes closed.

For the rest of the day Alice and I did what Alice loves to do best, shop. We walked around the mall going into every Alice approved store there was for four hours. I was actually shocked that Rosalie had chosen not to come with us, but I guess Emmett had something special planned for them since it was their one month anniversary. Who knew Emmett could be such a romantic. We were in the dressing room at Victoria's Secret, Alice throwing pieces at me left and right, she had already chosen what she wanted and was now scouring the store for things that, and I quote, "Make Jasper blow his load just from the sight of it." Whatever, I wasn't about to argue. I could use some new lingerie anyway, even if I wasn't planning on letting Jas see it anytime soon. Like I said, I just don't think I'm ready for all that yet.

"Come out, I need to see it on you Bella." Alice's voice came from the other side of the dressing room door. I groaned not wanting to give a show to everyone in the store. "Don't give me that groan Isabella Marie. Now open the damn door before I find my own way in."

"Fine. Geez woman." I walked out of the dressing room in the dark blue babydoll I had on. It was really pretty cute and I knew Alice would approve. She motioned with her finger for me to twirl around so she could get the full effect. While my back was to her I heard a whistle and even though I knew it was just Alice I blushed. "Shut up Ali." I turned around to give her a level glare but was shocked when I came face to face with Edward, with Alice nowhere in sight. His eyes were dark as he looked at me from top to bottom. What the hell was he doing here? "W-wh-what are you doing here?" I stuttered. I was frozen in place staring at him as his eyes continued to roam over me. I realized just then what I was dressed in and ran back into the dressing room to get my coat and draped it over me.

"Huh?" He responded. "Oh, sorry. Um, my mom's birthday is next week and she makes me buy her a pair of pajamas from here for her every year." Um, okay.

"That's weird." I told him. He just nodded his head, his eyes still looking me up and down even though he now couldn't see anything, it pissed me off and made me feel like a piece of meat. "HELLO! My eyes are up here."

"Sorry Bella. I just…fuck, it's better than my fantasies." Did he really just say that? The red that took over his entire face told me that yes he did in fact just say that. "Shit. Sorry Bella. Uh, I gotta go. See ya." Then he ran, like literally ran away from me. I was staring in the direction he had just gone when Alice spoke up.

"I think I found the perfect…what's wrong?"

"Where did you go Alice? I thought you were right there and then you weren't and then I was face to face with EDWARD in THIS! What the hell?" I scream whispered to her.

"Edward? As in the man you actually want even though you're dating his best friend? That Edward? Damn, where is he? I have to see this guy, even Rose says he's smoking hot."

"Alice, FOCUS, please."

"Oh, I'm focusing alright. Focusing on finding out what about this guy has your panties in a twist." Alice's head was craned, looking in every direction for Edward, even though she had no idea what he looked like in the first place.

"He's gone, stop looking for him. I'm going to go change and then I need an extra large mocha with extra whipped cream, and you're buying." I told her as I shut the door on the dressing room and changed my clothes. When I came back out Alice had two more bags in her hand, which meant…she bought all that stuff she was throwing at me. "I could have bought my own underwear."

"I know, but I thought this might help you forgive me for abandoning you while your hottie ogled you in that fierce nightie."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go."

EPOV

Why my mother insists on me buying her pajamas from Victoria's Secret every year is beyond me. It's weird, to be buying things for your MOTHER at Victoria's Secret. I walk into the store and immediately notice every set of eyes on me, probably wondering what the hell a single guy is doing in Victoria's Secret; they probably all think I'm a fucking perv. Time to find what I need and get the hell out of here.

"Can I help you sir?" The hot little sales girl in front me asked seductively. Her eyes were looking me over and once she got to my crotch she licked her lips.

"Maybe." I gave her my signature smirk, it caused her mouth to drop open and her eyes to bug out, she looked kind of like a deranged bunny, nothing like Bel-la, who seemed to be over at the dressing room coming out in a, oh holy mother of god, she's in a nightie. Without another thought I practically run over to her, ignoring the slutty sales girls calls of "Sir, I thought you needed help". Her friend walked away as Bella was mid twirl. I whistled at her, I couldn't help it, her ass was peeking out and holy hell I sporting wood now.

"Shut up Ali." Bella said, when she turned around she had a scowl on her face that would have leveled me had it been directed at me. We came face to face as soon as she turned around. I didn't realize I was that close to her, but I could feel her breath on my skin, I probably should have backed up a bit, but my body wasn't moving, as it was I had to restrain my hand from caressing her or taking her back in that dressing room and having my wicked way with her right there. My eyes freely roamed her perfect body, not paying attention to anything else around me. I could hear her talking, but I couldn't make any of the actual words out. I came to my senses then, knowing she was talking to me now, probably wondering what the hell I was doing in here, alone. Bella turned back into the dressing room, getting her coat to cover herself, which broke me out of my ogling of her magnificent body.

"Huh?" Yeah that was smooth. "Oh, sorry. Um, my mom's birthday is next week and she makes me buy her a pair of pajamas from here every year."

"That's weird." She said. Yeah, no shit, I didn't say that of course, I just nod, and still looking at her even though she was now covered. She finally yelled at me, "HELLO! My eyes are up here."

Ah fuck. I'm screwing up here. I apologized but really I wasn't sorry. Seeing her in that was way better than any of my fantasies. I had thought about what she would look like modeling sexy lingerie for me and none of the images my brain came up with did the actual sight justice. I looked at her face and she looked shocked. Shit, did I say that out loud? I must have, at the realization that I just spoke my thoughts out loud I could feel me face turning bright red. I wanted to flee. I've never in my life had this type of reaction to any woman, but here I am blushing and saying things I definitely should not be saying to my best friend's girl. This is wrong, very wrong. "Shit. Sorry Bella. Uh, I gotta go. See ya." Then I ran, forgetting all about the PJ's for my mom. I'd go to a different store and buy them a different day. Right now I needed to get the hell out of here and fast.

I made it all the way to my car before I started freaking out. My mind raced as I thought over the encounter I just had with Bella. She looked so fucking good in that nightie and it was a dark blue, my absolute favorite color on her. Her breasts were practically spilling out of the lace covered top, then the panties, sweet baby Jesus the panties were going to be my undoing. I was lucky I got out of there without doing something stupid. Right then the thought hit me that she was probably buying that stuff to wear for Jasper and it immediately made me sick. I needed to get home or to a bar and drink the thoughts out of my head. It was going to be a long night.

BPOV

The mocha helped, God how embarrassing was that? I mean someone who is definitely not my boyfriend saw me in something that _only_ my boyfriend should see me in, but it's not like Jasper was going to be seeing it anytime soon or anything anyway, but UGH. I can't even think. That was beyond embarrassing, Edward probably thinks I'm buying all this stuff for Jasper now. I groaned, laying my head down on the table top at the Starbucks we were currently sitting in.

"It'll be fine Bella. It's really not that big a deal." Alice tried to sound soothing, but her words just infuriated me.

"IT'LL BE FINE! NOT THAT BIG A DEAL! How the HELL is it going to be fine Alice? Edward saw me…IN A NIGHTIE!" I was screeching, drawing the attention of everyone else in the coffee shop. "Now he's going to think I'm buying all that stuff for Jasper. What the hell am I supposed to do now?" Alice remained silent, which isn't like her so I brought my head up off of the table to look at her; I was shocked at the look of smugness on her face as she took a drink from her coffee cup. "What?" I was trying really hard not to snap, but if she just sat there looking at me like that I wasn't going to be able to stop myself.

"Let's go. I need to get a few more things then we can go on home. Okay?" Alice got up from her seat, walking over to the trash can to toss her now empty cup. "Come on, shoes wait for no one Bella." It didn't escape my notice that she didn't tell me what the smug look was for. I had a feeling she was going to bring it up though, it's not like Alice to just let things go. I huffed as I got up, tossed my cup and followed her out and back into the mall.

Two hours later we were back in the car, the trunk practically over flowing with shopping bags, mostly Alice's.

"How are you going to fit all that crap in your suitcase?"

"Oh, only a couple of those things are for me. The rest, my lovely best friend, is for you." Her phone rang then; she looked at the screen and quickly accepted the call. "Hey Rose." She scrunched her face as she listened to whatever Rose was saying. "Yeah, we're on our way back now….Okay….See you in a few babe!" Her cell snapped closed and she put it back in her purse. "Rose is waiting for us at home. Says she's making fajitas and her famous margaritas and to step on it. It sounded to me like she's already had a couple of drinks."

"YES!" I was so happy. Rose made the best margaritas, they were perfectly mixed and she only used the best tequila so it didn't even taste like alcohol. Needless to say it didn't take long before we were all drunk. I needed it tonight after the Edward-nightie debacle as I am now calling it.

We got home in no time, as soon as we walked through the door Rose was there to greet us with the icy-blended goodness she had made. I took a sip and moaned, it was so good and just what I needed.

"I take it you like it B?" Rose asked with a smirk.

"You know I love your margaritas Rose. I think this might be your best batch yet. Did you do something different?" I took another sip of the yummy drink and savored the taste.

"I added some real lime juice instead of the mix. It's the key to making them really, really yum-fuckin-tastic." Rose's eyes looked a little glazed over which meant Alice was right, this isn't her first drink and we had some serious catching up to do.

"You're already drunk you little hussy." Alice screeched.

"Shut up. I had to taste to make sure they tasted yum." Oh boy, yeah she's had a lot to be talking like that.

"How many have you had Rose?" I asked, greedily gulping down my drink, all while trying to avoid getting the dreaded brain freeze.

"Um" She paused, looking deep in thought, not a good sign. "I think." Shit, she's gonna be passed right the hell out in half an hour. "Oh, wait, no."

"ROSE! How are the fajitas?" Let's get to the real issue here, the food.

"Don't get your panties in a wad Bell, the fajitas are done and waiting for your sorry asses to eat."

"Okay, good. Let's eat, I'm starving!" We all grabbed our food and sat down at my dining room table and dug in, the pitcher of margaritas in the middle of the table. We didn't talk, just stuffed our faces, you would think we never ate the way we were shoveling food in. Emmett would be proud. "How was your day with Em Rose?"

"Fantastic. He is so sweet." It looked like she wanted to say more but was holding back.

"You can talk to me about him you know. We had coffee once and that's it. I don't mind, really." I told her, hoping she would see the truth in my words. I wanted to be able to talk to my friend like I used to.

"And kissed." Rose mumbled.

"What?" I wasn't sure I heard her correctly.

"I said, AND KISSED Bella. You kissed him." Rose threw her napkin down on the table and made to get up. Alice was drinking her margarita, her eyes volleying between the two of us.

"HEY! You don't get to be mad at me here Rose." I was getting angry now. I've had three drinks and they were seriously affecting my mood. Just a little side note for you all, if I'm drunk I'm generally really fun and happy, but if you do or say something to make me mad, then I get really pissed off, fast.

"Excuse me? You kissed my boyfriend Bella. How the hell am I supposed to feel comfortable talking about him with you?" She was up and in my face now, her face reddening. Alice still just sat there watching.

"UM HELLO! In case you forgot I was dating him when you came into town and stole him from me. If anyone has a right to be pissed here it's me."

"You DID NOT just say that to me Bella!"

My front door burst open and I suddenly found myself being held back by strong arms, as was Rose with Paul behind her. "Let me go Jake!"

"What the hell is going on in here?" Great just what I need Tay.

Alice got up from her seat, drink in hand and went to Tanya, giving her a big hug.

"Hey Tanya. You look fabulous babe. What have you been doing to look this good?"

"Lots and lots of really hot sweaty sex. You don't look so bad yourself shortcake. How's the trip so far?" Tanya asked her, her eyes roaming over Alice's outfit. Alice of course gave her a little twirl to show off.

"Well good for you. I didn't know Demetri had all that in him. And to answer your other question the trip up until these two idiots started fighting has been great. Oh hey, you should come over for our girl's night in tomorrow." Tanya had somehow gotten herself a margarita, but I didn't even notice her move from her spot. Jakes arms were still around me while he whispered calming words into my ear. He was really a good friend. I calm considerably, finally relaxing my tense muscles under his iron grip.

"You good B?" He asked. Paul had let Rose go; as soon as he did she ran into her room and slammed the door.

"Yeah Jake. I'm fine." His arms disappeared from around me, when I turned around he was sitting at the table finishing off the fajitas. "Damn it Jacob Black!"

"Whaaa?"

"I was planning on eating that you big bafoon."

"Sowee Bewwa." UGH, idiot! Alice and Tay were in the kitchen so I decided to just join them in there while Jake hoovered my food. I was hungry damn it.

"…then they just started fighting over it, it was so weird." I heard Alice saying, but she stopped as soon as Tay looked over her shoulder at me. "Oh hey Bella."

"Ali. What are we talking about in here?" They looked at each other for a second before turning their gazes back to me.

Tanya spoke first; she never held back, it's one of the things I love about her. "Alice was telling me about your little almost brawl with Rosie."

"Don't call me Rosie Tay. Bella, can I talk to you for a minute please?" I nodded then followed her in her room. She closed the door behind her; I sat and waited on the edge of her bed. "Look, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I had no right to get mad at you for kissing Emmett, it was stupid of me."

"I'm sorry too Rose. You didn't steal Emmett away from me. We had one kiss, one coffee date and that was it. There wasn't any chemistry there and…GOD I am the worst person." Then I started sobbing. Rose rushed to my side on the bed and hugged me, Alice and Tay were there in seconds too, I was sobbing and talking, but honestly I didn't even know what the hell I was saying. I know it had something to do with Jasper and Edward. I finally calmed down a little later with the help from my friends and their soothing words.

"Bella, it's okay. You're not a bad person, alright?" Rose's hand rubbed my back with our foreheads pressed together. I looked up to find Alice kneeled down in front of me, rubbing my knees. Tanya was on my right rubbing my arm. They were great friends.

"Sweetie." Alice said, I looked at her through my tear filled eyes. "You need to get some sleep, I think we all do. It's been a long day. Things will look better in the morning, okay?"

Nodding my head I told her she was right. Tay said she'd see us tomorrow and left. Jake and Paul had already left but not before they cleaned up everything in the kitchen. Have I mentioned that I have great friends?

Alice was right of course, once I woke up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee everything felt better, except maybe my head. With all the crying and the alcohol my head felt like I had an anvil sitting on top of it. I stumbled into my bathroom and got a glass full of water and two aspirin. Rose and Alice were already at the table sipping their coffee and talking when I got there. I grabbed my own cup of coffee and joined them.

"Morning sunshine."

"Morning girls. How are we doing this morning?" Rose gave me a sad little smile; the look I gave in return told her that we were fine. I hated fighting with them.

"So I was thinking we do facials, manicures, pedicures and lunch, then we'll head over to the store to grab what you guys forgot for our night in then come back here and have a good time, How's that sound?"

"Sounds great Alice. Thanks."

"What the hell did we not get Ali? Bella and I went through our usual list twice before we went to the store to get our regular provisions."

"I didn't mean those kinds of provisions Rosalie." Alice wiggled her eyebrows at us, but I had no damn clue what she was talking about.

"What the hell does that mean Ali?" Rose didn't like to be left out of the loop.

"It means that you guys didn't get the stuff that slumber parties of made of." Rose gave me a look, silently asking if I knew what she was talking about; I of course shrugged because I was clueless. "You guys are so lame. We need to go get skimpy jammies, ooh and do either of you have a camera?"

"Mine is in my room. Why do you need a camera Alice?"

"You'll see." She sang.

Facials, manis and pedis were a fabulous idea. Tanya came along and we had a blast just talking and laughing. I told them all about the new songs I was writing and they in turn told me how excited they were to hear me play them. Tay of course mentioned me trying some of the new stuff out on Saturday; I told her it was a good idea for the ones that were finished.

We were back at my place now, getting settled and changing into our skimpy jammies that Alice made us get while we were out today, and setting everything up. I didn't really get the skimpy jammies thing, but Alice insisted and I've learned it's best to just not argue with her.

"Bella bring out your camera." Alice yelled from the living room. I was still in my room changing so I dug through my desk to find the camera for her and once I found it I went into the living room. Alice looked cute in her little baby doll that she bought today. You couldn't see through it, which was good, I didn't need to see that much of Alice up close. It's not like we've never seen each other naked or anything, but seeing that much of one of my best friends all night was just not something I wanted. "Damn Bella, you look good. Give me the camera." As soon as she had it in her hand she turned it towards me and snapped a picture. I gave her a little pose, deciding it was easier to just go with it. "Where's your phone B?"

"Um, why?"

"Because I HAVE to take a picture of you in that and send it to your man. He'll flip his lid Bell."

"Yeah, that's so not happening."

"Why not? It's not like he hasn't seen you in less, right?" I hadn't told anyone, other than Rose that I hadn't slept with Jasper yet so this was probably going to come as a shock to Alice, even though it shouldn't with my history.

"Um, actually Alice, we haven't gotten past second base yet." Wait for it….

"WHAT!" There it is. "Why the hell not? Oh wait…Bella, you need to get over that, it's been what…five years?"

"Alice, really? You think a person just gets over that type of thing, even if it has been five years?" Thank you Rose.

"Are we ready to party ladies?" Tanya just burst through the door. God love her, she always lightens the mood and I am fairly certain she heard the conversation and did it on purpose. "What's going on now? Don't tell me the busty twins are fighting again?"

"We're fine. Let's just order the Chinese food and have a good time, okay?" They all nodded in agreement thank the lord. Rose set up the movie, Alice called in the order for the food and I mixed the drinks. Tanya said she had bought some beer but forgot it, so she went back upstairs to grab it. There was a knock on the door so I went to go grab it, thinking it was Tanya. "Did you finally remember your manners Tay….Ah shit." I quickly slammed the door and ran into my room to grab a robe. This man has seen enough of me in skimpy things.

"Bella, what's going on?" Alice and Rose were hot on my heels, but I ignored them. I grabbed my robe and went back to the door where Edward was still waiting; looking utterly confused but hotter than any man had a right to. _You're dating Jasper, You're dating Jasper, You're dating Jasper. You CANNOT jump Edward!_

"Edward?"

"Hi Bella. Could I maybe, uh, talk to you…alone?"

"Yeah sure." I let him in then walked back into my room, bypassing my two nosey best friends, I didn't bother to look if he was behind me, I could feel him following. Once we were in my room with the door closed I had a feeling that this was a bad idea. Me, Edward, in my room, alone, with the door closed. Yeah this could be very, _very_ bad. _You're dating Jasper. You CANNOT jump Edward!_ "Did you get the pajamas for your mom?"

He chuckled lightly, his eyes roaming around my room then falling on me. He seemed nervous; he ran his hand through his disheveled hair and then rubbed the back of his neck. Why was he nervous, it's not like I saw _him_ half naked? Mmmm, Edward half naked. I bet he is toned with some beautiful muscles, not too much though, but just the right amount with a light speckling of hair on his chest. I'm sure he has a six pack too with a happy trail that matches the color of hair on his head exactly and I am more than positive he has that sexy V leading down to the place where most of my fantasies lead, that I would love nothing more than to run my tongue along. Yeah, HOT. Speaking of which, did someone turn the heat on; it's like a sauna in here. Edward cleared his throat and that's when I realized I was just standing there…staring…_at his crotch_. The smirk on his beautiful, kissable lips told me that in noticed my stare and probably liked it, I blushed in embarrassment.

"Beautiful." He whispered. He reached his hand out to me, and the back of his hand caressed my cheek. I closed my eyes reveling in the current that seemed to always pass through me whenever he touched me. He took a step closer to me, hand still on my cheek. GAH! _Please don't kiss me, Please kiss me, Please don't kiss me, Please kiss me._ My thoughts were a jumbled mess. I felt the light pressure of his lips against mine as his arm slid around my waist. He increased the pressure of his lips as his tongue lightly caressed my bottom lip. I opened up for him and as soon as his tongue found mine I moaned into his mouth. The moan seemed to break us both out of whatever lust filled haze we had managed to get ourselves into and we broke apart, pushing against the other at the same time. I nearly fell on my ass both from the short, but leg weakening kiss and from the force of which we both pushed off each other. "Sorry Bella. I don't know what came over me. I shouldn't have…I'm so sorry."

"It's okay Edward. So…um..why did you…" I couldn't even finish my sentence. What on earth does this man do to me?

"I'm sorry. I already said that. God I just keep fucking up with you. Look, I came here to apologize for what happened at the mall yesterday. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable and here I go kissing you making you more uncomfortable. I'm such an idiot." He looked so upset with himself, I felt bad for him. He couldn't help this attraction we had towards each other anymore than I could.

"Edward. It's alright. I mean, we obviously can't do that again, but it was a slip, its fine. Let's not speak of it again."

"Yeah. Yeah, okay. It was a mistake." Ouch! A mistake, that's what he called it. It hurt, not gonna lie. I thought it was amazing; sure it couldn't happen again, but a mistake? I guess that's what it was, it shouldn't have happened…again. "Okay, well I guess I'm going to go. Thank you Bella, for talking to me, I know you're busy with your friends." He stepped forward and kissed my forehead then walked out the door. Tay, Rose and Alice were all standing on the other side of the door watching him walk away, as soon as the door shut they looked back at me, eyes wide open.

"WHAT!" I yelled. I shed my robe and stormed past them into the kitchen to get my drink. "Let's do this." I was on the couch waiting for them, one by one they joined me and we started the movie. The food came only moments later. We were all quiet as we ate all eyes on me at one point or another. I knew they were going to make me spill the beans before the night was over and I did not want to do that while I was drunk, who knew what would come out of my mouth under the influence of alcohol. "Okay, I'm giving you 5 minutes to ask your questions and I promise to answer all of them, then we're going to forget about this whole mess and have a good time. Got it!" They all nodded once. "Alice, go ahead since it looks like you're about to split at the seams if you have to contain it any longer."

"Yay! Okay, I think Tay and Rose need to hear about what happened yesterday at Victoria's Secret though before we start with the questions. Do you want to tell them or do you want me to Bella?" I groaned, I did not want to go over that again. I waved a tired hand her, a signal to go ahead and tell the story. I just drank while Alice told the girls about the Edward-Nighty debacle. Then there were gasps as she got to what I said at Starbucks and I knew I was in for it.

"Then she said 'Now he's going to think I'm buying all that stuff for Jasper. What the hell am I supposed to do now?'" They gasped, as I said then she continued with an "I know!" then they all looked at me again. I may have turned bright red. Yeah I really did say that, but what did it really mean? "Bella. My question is how are you feeling about Jasper? Is he really the one you want to be with? Because it doesn't seem like he is."

"UGH! I don't know. I like Jasper, a lot, he's an amazing guy, the kind of guy I should go out with, you know. But GOD Edward, whenever I'm around him it feels like my whole body is on fire. I just can't get passed the whole man-whore thing."

"Okay, but didn't his dad and Edward himself tell you that he didn't do anything with most of those girls?" Rose asked.

"Yes, but how do I know for a fact that that's true?"

"Well his DAD told you for one thing and I don't seriously think his father would lie for him just so he can get in some girls pants." Rose had a point. Carlisle is a well respected doctor, I couldn't see him lying just so his playboy son can get laid, besides I doubt Edward has any trouble getting girls to open their legs for him. I mean, look at the man, it's like he was carved out of marble and begged to be worshiped.

"I guess." I took a moment to think, everyone was silent and the only sound in the room was the movie playing in the background. "What about Jasper though? I can't just dump him, he's done everything right, and he's just the most amazing person."

"But there isn't the connection that you have with Edward there, is there? I mean do you feel that heat, that passion with Jasper?" Tanya asked. Of course she'd bring up sexual attraction or whatever it was that Edward and I had. "I know what you're thinking Bella and that kind of connection doesn't come around that often trust me."

"She's right B. I found it with Emmett and it's the most amazing feeling in the world. I wouldn't trade it for anything." Rose told me, with a far off look in her eyes.

Alice pouted; I rubbed her leg so she'd feel better. I know for a fact that she hasn't found that spark yet. Hell maybe the airport guy will be that for her. As if on cue her cell phone rang. She raced to get it and when she looked at the caller ID she got a weird look on her face. "Go ahead and use my room Ali." She waved her thanks and rushed to my room, closing the door behind her.

"Must be her airport guy." Rose said. "So, Bella. What are you thinking?"

"I don't know Rose. I just don't know."

"What happened in your room with him?" Tanya asked, she then got up to get us more drinks since we were all empty. Alice came out of the room looking a little weird, but quickly covered it up with a smile when she got to us. "Was that your airport guy?"

"Uh, no. It was work, some emergency, but I told them to deal with it, I am on vacation. So what were we talking about? Oh, Bella's problem."

"Yeah, I was just asking her what happened in her room tonight and she was just about to spill."

"Well we were talking, he apologized for yesterday at Victoria's Secret, said he didn't want me to feel uncomfortable. It was really sweet actually." I blushed thinking about that kiss, but it didn't escape any of my friends notice. Damn it!

"We see that blush Bella, tell us." Rose said getting more comfortable on the couch.

"Alright, alright. He may have kissed me."

"WHAT!" Alice.

"OH MY GOD!" Tanya.

"You little hussy." Rose, yeah, that's the response I expect from her.

Alice spoke first, she looked a little mad. "Bella! You _have to_ break things off with Jasper. This isn't right. I can see it in your eyes that you feel something with Edward, you owe it to yourself to explore that" Alice said. She was probably right, but I just didn't feel like breaking things off with Jasper was a good idea. He is a great guy and I'm lucky to have him.

"I don't know Alice. Edward said it was a mistake and I think he was right. It's not going to happen again. I think I am better off with Jasper, I really do." The rest of the night was so fun, all conversations of Jasper and Edward were over, so we concentrated on Alice's airport guy as well as Rose and Emmett. Tay felt left out so of course she had to say something about Demetri and his magic hands and giant cock. Rose admitted that she and Emmett haven't had sex yet, that shocked everyone except me. I knew, she's been living with me after all.

"I just don't want to rush into it, you know? I really like him and don't want to mess things up by rushing into sleeping with him. I know you guys probably think I'm stupid."

"No, we don't think that at all. I completely understand where you're coming from. I would want to take things slow too for the right guy." Alice said.

I nodded in agreement as I finished off my drink. "Yeah Rose, you know Jas and I haven't had sex yet. I want to make sure we do things right, like you and Emmett. We love you babe, don't doubt yourself or your relationship with Emmett, you two are great together."

"Thanks B. That means a lot to me." Rose crawled over to me, landing in my lap to give me a hug. Alice joined in too.

"Hey, I want in on that." Tanya was crawling over to us and soon we were just a bunch of girls, laying on top of one another hugging and singing at the top of our lungs "All you need is love." It was great.

We finished up our movie pretty soon after that, all of us equally drunk and practically passed out on the living room floor. I was sad that Alice was leaving tomorrow, it was like old times having her here.

"I'm actually pretty tired ladies and I have an early flight." We all agreed we were pretty wiped out too and cleaned up our mess. Tanya headed home, Rose said she was going to call Em and I went to bed thinking about Edward and that kiss earlier then I felt bad and thought about all the great kisses I had with Jasper. The girls were right, I did have a connection with Edward that wasn't there with Jasper, but couldn't that evolve over time? It had to, right?

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**A/N: Sorry for not including more EPOV, but Bella was damn talkative this time around. The poor girl is so confused, but not really. She knows what she wants, but she's not sure it's what she should want. I'll give you one guess who Alice's airport mystery man is. It should be somewhat obvious.**

**Reviews are almost as good as Edward kisses, so leave them, please. Love you all! Again, song recommendations are appreciated.  
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	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you for all the reviews guys, I suppose that means I need to keep writing. I'm going to keep up with the request for music choices, so give em up.**

**Lots of stuff going on in this little chapter, so hold on to your hats and glasses my peeps. I'll tell you all the names of the songs at the end. Good stuff here. Go on, you know you want to read it now. **

**Oh yeah, and I don't own Twilight or its characters, but I do own this story and have an insane dog named Chewy.**

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_There's a still in the street outside your window  
You're keeping secrets on your pillow  
Let me inside no cause for alarm  
I promise tonight not do no harm  
Yeah I promise ya babe, I won't do you no harm_

_And we're caught up in the crossfire  
Of heaven and hell  
And we're searchin' for shelter  
Lay your body down  
Lay your body down  
Lay your body down_

_Watching you dress as you turn down the lights  
I forget all about the storm outside  
Dark clouds roll their way over town  
Heart-ache and pain came-ah pouring down  
Like hail, sleet and rain, yeah, they're handing it out_

_And we're caught up in the crossfire  
Of heaven and hell  
And we're searchin' for shelter  
Lay your body down  
Lay your body down  
Lay your body down_

_Lay your body down  
Lay your body down  
Lay your body down_

_Tell the devil that he can go back from where he came  
His fiery arrows drew their bead in vain  
And when the hardest part is over we'll be here  
And our dreams will break  
The boundaries of our fear  
The boundaries of our fear_

_Lay your body down  
Lay your body down  
Lay your body down_

_Lay your body down  
Lay your body down  
Lay your body down_

_Next to mine_

The man was trying to kill me, that's all there is to it. Jasper isn't home yet and I guess that means the flirtation via song choice has been risen up to epic proportions. How is a girl supposed to resist this? How I ask you? Rose is off in the corner with Emmett not paying any attention to the song choices he's been making all night long. I just can't help enjoying the attention from him. I'm starting to think that Alice was right. I'm feeling things for Edward, more so than anything I've been feeling for Jas. I keep telling myself that if I just wait a little longer I would feel far more for him than I do Edward, but it just seems to be at a standstill. Maybe we just need to take our relationship to the next level, physically. I don't mean sex, but we can more than just making out and light groping, I could do that, couldn't I? I would try; when he gets home tomorrow I am going to let him in a little further.

It's almost closing time and Rose said she was going to come up and sing something girlie, which to Rose usually means angry girl rock.

"Thank you Edward." There wasn't a whole lot of people in the bar tonight, so it was pretty much my group, Edward, Em, Rose and Jake with a few others. Jessica and her friends have pretty much become regulars and she's just so sweet, her friend Lauren that comes with her however is a vapid tramp. She's always trying to pick up Edward, that and her singing sounds like someone trying to disembowel a cat while it's still alive, no joke people. Jessica was on her honeymoon this week which thankfully means no Lauren. "Rose, your turn babe."

Rose gave Emmett a kiss and sauntered her drunken ass up to the stage. "Thanks Belly Bean."

"Please don't call me that ever again." I laughed. She grabbed the mic and stuck her tongue out at me. "Save it for Emmett Rose, he's much more appreciative of that type of gesture." The girl had the nerve to flip me off. "If I were into girls I'd be all over that, but sadly for you I like the peen. Try not to cry into your pillow when you go to sleep tonight." That made her laugh so hard I thought she might pee her pants on stage, drunk Rose was funny. "Everyone give it up for Rosalie! The hottest bitch I know!" We all may have been drinking, a lot. Just as suspected Rose chose to sing _Love is a Battlefield_, classic Pat Benetar.

I sat back and watched her perform and thought about how much I wished Alice was here, she'd be back soon and I was looking forward to all the girl time we'd have again once she was officially back. She went home this morning; I drove her to the airport. Rose wanted to go, but she had to work and it wouldn't look too good to go into work late on your second week. She had already gotten yesterday off when she agreed to take the job knowing we were going to be hanging out with Alice all day. Yesterday we all had such a good time, but I had a nagging feeling about Alice's airport guy. There just seemed to be something off about it all. I don't know, maybe I'm just being over protective; Alice hasn't had the best choices when it came to the men she chose. That had to be it, I was just being protective of my friend, but no matter how much I tried to tell myself that that was it the feeling wouldn't go away. "Hey, you okay Bella?" Rose had finished her song and now was handing me the mic.

"Oh, yeah. I just have this nagging feeling about Alice's mystery man." I wondered if she had the same feeling, maybe if she did it would make me feel better knowing I'm not the only one.

"Why is that?"

"Well I don't really know. I just have a weird feeling like something is up with him."

"It's probably just because we haven't met him and all Alice knows is that he's hot and she has a feeling. I think it's okay though, you know Alice can hold her own and she seems so sure about this guy for some reason. Let's just hope for the best and if something happens then she'll be here and we can help her. Besides, he hasn't even called her yet and who knows if he will so let's not worry about it, okay?"

"You're probably right." The crowd was getting louder as they waited, I could hear a couple people asking what was taking so long. Time to get back to work I suppose. "Sounds like the natives are getting restless; I better get back out there." I got up from my seat and Rose went back to sit with Emmett. He hugged her tight when she got to him. "Thank you for that Rose! You were amazing as always." The small crowd applauded for her, I picked up the next request. We only had time for two more songs so we got through those pretty quickly and cleaned up. Angela helped me pick up the books, pencils and paper while Edward and Jake helped me out with the equipment. I was ready to go in no time. Jake rode with me so he just sat in the car waiting until I was ready. I thanked Angela and found Edward waiting for me at the door as usual when Jas wasn't here. "You didn't have to wait for me, Jake's in the car. I'll be safe if you want to just head home Edward."

"I'd rather be safe than sorry Bella. I'll walk you to your car then take off."

"Okay. Thanks." We walked to my car in silence, but I had a feeling there was something he wanted to say.

"Safe and sound, goodnight Bella. See you Thursday." Then he turned and left. It was strange, we usually talked when he walked me to the car and normally he had a hard time leaving, wanting to prolong our conversation for as long as we could. I could only assume he was trying to be a good friend to Jas and not actually hit on me as much. I decided not to dwell on it. I was tired and wanted to go home.

"Let's roll B, I'm tired." Jake was asleep five minutes into the drive home, we lived only ten minutes away. When I pulled in to my spot I shook the beast of a man awake to get him out of my car, he woke up with a snort, which made me laugh. "Sorry B, guess I was more tired than I thought. Thanks for letting me come with you tonight, I had a good time."

"No problem Jake. See ya. Tell Paul I said hi."

"Will do. Night B." He went into his apartment and I walked the short distance to mine. With the door closed and locked behind me I went to my room and changed into the shorts and cami I normally slept in. Right as I got into bed my phone chirped indicating I had a text, it was from Jasper.

**Just wanted to say goodnight beautiful. Sweet dreams and I'll see you tomorrow. – J**

I smiled and hit reply immediately.

**Goodnight handsome. I miss you and can't wait to see you tomorrow. My lips miss you too. – B**

His response was quick and I giggled.

**Mmmm, you're killing me Bella. As soon as I land I'm heading straight to your place and giving those lips a proper hello. You may have to cancel your lesson with Jane, it could take a while. ;)– J**

Now I was blushing. Never has he been this forward with his words to me. It was kind of a turn on.

**We'll be waiting here for you. – B**

**Good. See you tomorrow Bella. Goodnight my sweet girl. – J**

**Night Jas. Have a safe flight home. – B**

I drifted off to sleep quickly after that. I didn't dream that night but when I woke up I was giddy, Jasper was coming home today, it had been a long few days. I spent the morning cleaning up the apartment trying to bide my time waiting for him to get here. True to his word he came right from the airport. I opened the door and he had his bags in his hand, he had taken a cab to and from the airport, not wanting to leave his car in the long term parking lot. I didn't even get in a "Hello" because as soon as I opened the door he stepped in, grabbed me and kissed me, then kicked the door closed. He carried me into my room and closed that door too.

"God, Bella, I missed you so fucking much." He murmured against my lips.

"I missed you too. Oh that feels so good." His lips had kissed every inch of my face and were now at my collarbone. Jasper's hands went to the hem of my shirt and pulled it up, kissing the exposed skin as it was revealed to him. "Holy fuck Jas."

"Bella. Damn, I love it when you talk like that. So fucking sexy." My bra was gone and his warm mouth was wrapped around one nipple while his fingers pinched and pulled at the other one. He was lying on top of me on my bed and my hips bucked up to meet his very prominent erection as he tweaked my nipple. Jasper let out a moan as our hips came into contact. "I want you Bella. I want to touch you. Will you let me touch you?"

"God yes." My head was thrown back as he worked over my body. I felt his hands at the waistband of my jeans. His fingers released the button then lowered my zipper, the next thing I knew my jeans were off and on the floor. I sat up, forcing him to get up, when he looked at me in confusion I smirked at him and placed my hands on his belt, undoing it, then the button fly on his jeans. His jeans and boxers hit the floor with a soft thud and he stepped out of them. I crawled up to the headboard and he followed. We lay on our sides facing each other, kissing as our hands explored one another. My hand grasped onto his hard cock and his hand slid down my abdomen at a torturously slow pace. I started pumping, my thumb grazing his sensitive head, spreading the pre-cum around then continuing to pump him. His nimble fingers slid inside my now soaked panties coming into contact with my very wet lips.

"Ugh, you're so wet Bella." I moaned as he slipped one finger into my dripping center, he pumped, once, twice before adding another finger, his thumb found my clit, drawing small circles on it driving me crazy. I was panting like I'd run a freaking marathon, I would have been embarrassed if he wasn't panting as well. My hand was wrapped around him pumping to the same tempo as he was, my thumb grazing his tip as it made its way back up. Jas bucked his hips into my hand groaning with me. "Fuck. Bella, I'm gonna…..ahhhhhhh shit." He said at the same time my orgasm hit me with a loud. "Jas, oh….ooooohhhhhh…..sooooooo goooood. Ahhhhhh." I made to get up but he gently pushed me back down on the bed. "I got it. Stay there beautiful." I watched his naked form walk to the bathroom and sighed. That was amazing. He came back all cleaned up himself with a wet towel and sweetly cleaned me up.

"If that's what I get when you're gone for a few days then I think you should leave more often." He finished up, tossed the towel and lay down next to me kissing my forehead, my eyelids, my nose then my lips.

"Or maybe I could just do that every day from now on."

"Hmm, I guess that could work." I told him, my hand went to the back of his neck so I could pull him to me. Once he was close enough I kissed him, it was slow and sweet and perfect. "So how was your trip?"

"It was good, the conference went well, but I'm glad it's over and I'm home now."

"Good. I'm glad you're home too." I kissed him on the lips again, happy to have him with me.

"How was your weekend? Did you and your friends have fun?" He asked. His hand was in my hair, twirling it in his fingers.

"It was great. We had so much fun. Alice met some guy at the airport, said she slipped him her name and number, but he hasn't called yet. She seems really excited about him though."

"But?" He probes. How does he do that?

"I don't know." I do know, but I'm not sure I should tell him. I told Rose and she brushed it off.

"Yes you do. Tell me."

"Okay." I take a deep breath then look him in the eyes. "Well I just worry that she's going to get hurt. Alice doesn't make the best choices when it comes to the men she dates."

"He hasn't called right?" I nodded, feeling foolish for worrying so much about this when he hasn't even contacted her yet. "Well then don't worry about it. No point in stressing over something that hasn't even started. I mean she only gave him her number, nothing may even come of it."

"I know, you're right. I'm being ridiculous, but I just have this really bad feeling about it all."

"You're a good friend." He said with a kiss on my nose. I was glad that I had allowed our relationship to progress, Jasper is amazing and now I feel closer to him than I ever have before.

The next three weeks moved by in a blur. I developed a routine and stuck to it, my schedule was crazy now. Peter had added another student to my roster so I was doing voice coaching on Wednesday nights with a guy named Tyler, he had a lot of raw material to work with so I figured he would be another great student. Jasper was doing amazingly well with the guitar; he really had a good grasp on the notes and how to put them together. Jane was doing fabulously too.

Alice was due to move in less than a week, her realtor was a miracle worker and had found her the perfect place. It had a store front on a busy street with an amazing apartment right above it. She had enough room to work and live comfortably. The rent was a little high, but her previous employer, now her financial backer had agreed to the price and said it would be no problem at all seeing as the rent for both places here was much less than the rent would be for just a store front back in San Diego.

Edward had seemed to tone down his flirtation with me. I wasn't sure if it was because Jasper was around more or if he had just given up. It made my life much easier, I have to say. We still talked of course, but it was all very innocent. My relationship with Jasper was going alright, ever since the night he came back we had been exploring each other, but have yet to actually have sex, I still wasn't ready. He told me he'd wait for me until I was. There was something going on with him though, he seemed a little off lately. There'd be times he would get a phone call, smile and walk away, out of ear shot. I didn't really think anything of it the first couple of times it happened, but it was becoming more frequent and it was starting to worry me.

EPOV

It had been three weeks, three long torturous weeks since I've had any sort of flirtatious exchanges with Bella. It was killing me, but I promised Emmett and myself that I would stop this and let her and Jasper just be happy. It was taking every ounce of power that I had in me to just be her friend, God how I wanted that girl, but she wasn't mine. I hadn't hit on another girl either, I think in the back of my head I was still hoping they wouldn't work out and she'd come running to me. There was a girl that had been hanging around Eclipse with her friends, Lauren; she's the bane of my existence. The girl just cannot take a hint, even if it slapped her in the face, which honestly I was about ready to do. No matter what I said or how I said it she just kept trying to get into my pants. Tonight was no exception.

"Edwarrrdd..how you doin baby?" She slurred/purred. It made me want to tear my ears off and burn them just so I would never have to hear that sound again.

"Lauren." I responded curtly, I didn't even bother to look at her.

She leaned in close and I could smell tequila on her breath, then the idiot had the nerve to whisper in my ear. "I'm horny."

"How nice for you." I still hadn't looked at her. I was by myself for the moment, Jasper was running late, work had him tied up, Emmett and Rose were out at dinner and weren't due to come for another hour, so I was stuck with no chance of escape. There was also some asshole up on stage trying to sing some lame ass Justin Bieber song, don't ask me how I know it's Justin Bieber, that's a story for another time, needless to say I was in hell and no amount of beer was making it better. I could see Bella at the side of the stage, she seemed agitated, try as I might my stare did not get her to look up and save me from the wicked whore that seemed to want to monopolize my time and my dick.

Not getting the hint for the fiftieth time in the last month she continued to whisper in my ear, "Let's get out of here and let me show you a real good time baby."

"Edward, there you are. Look, since you're not busy do you think you could help me with something on stage?" My savior came finally, Bella. I gulped the beer I had just taken a gulp of and nodded enthusiastically.

"But, Edward, I thought you and I were going to…you know." Lauren motioned to the door with her head, but almost fell over with the action. I tried not to laugh and did well with holding it in for about 10 seconds before Bella was shrieking in laughter, which caused me to burst out laughing.

"Lauren, get the fucking hint. He's. NOT. INTERESTED! He'll never be interested in your skanky ass, so quite trying." Lauren huffed and stormed off. I had no doubt she'd try again next week, but I was happy for the reprieve for the night. "Sorry, if you were trying to work that, but I just can't stand her."

"Oh, no please. Anytime you see me over here looking in utter pain from unwanted attention feel free to scare them off. I've been trying to get her off my crotch for weeks, but nothing seemed to be helping break her thick skull." My head shook as I chuckled.

"Well good then." She was silent for a second, looking everywhere but at me. "Okay, well I better get back. Wouldn't want to deprive the world of any more awful renditions of Justin Bieber."

"Yeah, that guy is pretty bad. Thank you Bella, really. I appreciate you saving me." My hand grabbed hers and I brought it to my lips, leaving a light kiss on her knuckles. When I looked back up her face was scarlet red.

"Uh…no problem. I better….." Then she was gone. An hour later Emmett and Rose showed up, I had already drunk an entire pitcher of beer so I was feeling pretty damn good. Jasper had yet to show up; he must have a difficult patient to deal with, poor bastard.

"Hey man, how's it been tonight?" Emmett said as he sat down, scooting further in so Rose could sit next to him. "Where's Jas?"

"Hey Em, Rose. It's been rough. Lauren was trying to get into my pants again tonight; thankfully Bella saved me and told her to fuck off. I'm not sure where Jas is, he said he was going to be a little late, but I haven't heard from him since four." Angela brought over more glasses and another pitcher of beer, bless her. "Thanks Ang."

"No problem sugar." She replied before going back to the bar.

"What's up with Bella?" Rose asked. I looked over at Bella and she seemed really angry.

"Don't know, she's seemed agitated all night."

"I'm going to go see what's up. I'll be right back." Rose was up and at the stage in a flash and she didn't come back for half an hour.

"So I see the just being friends with Bella isn't working out so hot for you, huh man?"

"What? It's going fine Em." I had no idea what he was getting at. I was doing just fine being friends with Bella.

"Uh huh. Keeping tabs on her mood all night is a bit more than friendly, don't you think Edward?"

"Fuck off Emmett. I've been sitting here by myself for two hours with nothing to entertain me but a bunch of idiots trying to sing like pop stars and failing miserably. And Bella's mood has been kind of hard to ignore, she hasn't been acting like herself even when she's on stage and you know how much she loves it up there. You should have heard the song she sang earlier, it was fucking depressing."

Emmett raised his hands in surrender and it calmed me down a bit. "Okay, man, sorry." He took a big gulp of beer then his eyes wandered over to Rose, then back to me. "Uh, listen. I need to tell you something, but you have to keep it to yourself." I nodded at him, silently agreeing that would keep my mouth shut about whatever he was about to tell me. "I was talking to Jas the other day; you know just shooting the shit over a beer."

"What the hell man, why wasn't I invited out?" I sounded like a five year old not getting his way, but what the fuck ever.

"You were working, geez. Anyway, like I was saying. He got a phone call, got this huge smile on his face and then just left me there. We were in the middle of a fucking conversation and he just bolted."

"Okay, it was probably Bella. What's the big deal?"

"Yeah, that's what I thought, until he came back in. He still had a big 'ole goofy grin on his face and I asked him point blank if it was Bella and he said no it was just a patient. Have you EVER seen a psychiatrist get that happy over a call from one of his patients?"

"What are you getting at here Em? Maybe he just didn't want to admit to it being Bella that put the stupid grin on his face." I didn't really buy what I was selling, something in my head was nagging at me that something was going on, but I didn't want to think that way of Jas.

"Nah, man. I think there's something going on with him." Rose chose that moment to come back effectively ending that line of discussion. "You okay baby?" Emmett asked her as she slid back into her seat.

"Yeah. I'm just worried about Bella. She thinks there's something going on with Jasper. She says he's been pulling away from her and she thinks it's because she hasn't had sex with him yet."

Beer flew out of my mouth, soaking everything on the table, including Rosalie's shirt.

"EDWARD! Shit! UGH, now I have to go clean this up." She gave me a dirty look as she got up again. I saw her go talk to Bella, probably looking for a spare shirt or something; Bella nodded and led her over to Angela.

"That can't be a coincidence." Emmett broke into my thoughts again and I was beginning to think there really was something going on with Jas, but I couldn't believe that he would be acting detached from his girlfriend just because they hadn't had sex that just isn't Jasper.

"I don't know Em. What do you think is going on?"

"I'm not sure, maybe there's another woman?"

"Hmm, that doesn't seem like something Jas would do." I told him.

"What doesn't seem like something I would do?" Jasper was suddenly standing at our table, so I made room for him. Angela came by with another glass and a dirty martini, Rose apparently had ordered it.

"Uh, what took you so long Jas?" I asked, trying at all costs to avoid answering his question.

"Man, this patient just was in crisis mode. She just kept going on and on, I tell you man, sometimes you just have to talk to for hours to get some people to calm down." With his glass filled he brought it to his lips and scanned the song book. We had managed to steer him away from what we previously had been talking about, being none the wiser to the topic. Thank Christ for that. "I'll be right back, I'm gonna go say hi to Bella." Emmett and I nodded and watched him go to Bella. The agitation she was exuding all night seemed to dissipate when Jasper held her, I guess she was just anxious to see him. Rose came out from the direction of the restrooms wearing a new Eclipse t-shirt and her jeans, she made a bee line for Bella and wrote what I assumed was a request then came back to the table. She practically chugged the martini Angela had brought over.

"Damn baby, that was hot." Emmett's eyes were wide as saucers as he looked at his girlfriend, she waved in the direction of the bar with her now empty glass, soon Ang was back to replace it with a now full one.

"Thanks Ang. Keep 'em coming would ya?" She asked.

"Sure thing Rose." Angela looked warily over at Em and I, shrugged and walked away.

"What's up with the guzzling down martinis Rose?" I asked, I had never seen her drink like this in the past two months that I've known her.

"Nothing, just needing a little liquid courage." She answered, downing another martini.

"What do yo…." I was interrupted by Bella calling her up on stage for her song. Rose finished off her martini and scrambled up to the stage.

"Emmett baby, this one's for you." This should be good. I geared up for whatever Rose was going to sing. Jasper had come back and was watching with the rest of us. The music started and I recognized it immediately. Emmett was going to lose his shit.

_You think I'm pretty  
Without any makeup on  
You think I'm funny  
When I tell the punchline wrong  
I know you get me  
So I let my walls come down, down_

_Before you met me  
I was alright but things  
Were kinda heavy  
You brought me to life  
Now every February  
You'll be my Valentine, Valentine_

_Let's go all the way tonight  
No regrets, just love  
We can dance, until we die  
You and I, will be young forever_

The look on Emmett's face was comical if nothing else. I could tell that he wasn't sure what she was actually saying by singing this song, but judging by the look on Rose's face, she was serious about the words she was singing. I wondered how long it was going to take him to just go up and grab her off the stage and take her home.

_You make me feel  
Like I'm livin' a  
Teenage dream  
The way you turn me on  
I can't sleep  
Let's run away and  
Don't ever look back,  
Don't ever look back_

_My heart stops  
When you look at me  
Just one touch  
Now baby I believe  
This is real  
So take a chance and  
Don't ever look back,  
Don't ever look back_

_We drove to Cali  
And got drunk on the beach  
Got a motel and  
Built a fort out of sheets  
I finally found you  
My missing puzzle piece  
I'm complete_

_Let's go all the way tonight  
No regrets, just love  
We can dance, until we die  
You and I, will be young forever_

_You make me feel  
Like I'm livin' a  
Teenage dream  
The way you turn me on  
I can't sleep  
Let's run away and  
Don't ever look back,  
Don't ever look back_

_My heart stops  
When you look at me  
Just one touch  
Now baby I believe  
This is real  
So take a chance and  
Don't ever look back,  
Don't ever look back_

_I'mma get your heart racing  
In my skin tight jeans  
Be your teenage dream tonight  
Let you put your hands on me  
In my skin tight jeans  
Be your teenage dream tonight_

I thought Emmett was going to burst, sitting there watching her dancing and singing this song up there, then he did what I had been anticipating for the last minute and a half. He jumped from his seat, her bag in hand and rushed the stage.

_Yoooouuu  
You make me feel  
Like I'm livin' a  
Teenage dream  
The way you turn me "_ahhhhhh, Emmett"

Rose squeaked as he hoisted her over his shoulder. He slapped her ass and they were out the door.

"Okay, I guess she's done for the night." Bella laughed and then sang the rest of the song, it made me hard, the gyration of her hips, the husky tone in her voice, and it was all _very_ sexy.

_My heart stops  
When you look at me  
Just one touch  
Now baby I believe  
This is real  
So take a chance and  
Don't ever look back,  
Don't ever look back_

_I'mma get your heart racing  
In my skin tight jeans  
Be your teenage dream tonight  
Let you put your hands on me  
In my skin tight jeans  
Be your teenage dream tonight  
(Tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight) __  
_Holy shit. That's all I'm saying. She may have only sung one third of that song, but let me tell you that right now there is no blood in my brain; it's all headed down south. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, praying to God Jasper didn't notice me ogling his girl, no need to have that conversation again. When I looked at him he was staring down at his phone, not even paying attention to me or the show Bella just gave.

"Joslyn. Let's get your Britney on girl." Bella ushered the girl on stage and went back to sorting the new requests. She looked like she was about to cry, could it have been because her boyfriend wasn't paying any attention to her? Probably.

"Hey man, what are you singing tonight?" I asked Jasper.

"Huh?" He looked up from his phone looking happy, but bewildered. "Where'd Em and Rose go?" O-kaayy? Did he not see the display they just put on?

"Seriously? What the hell is so interesting on that phone that you missed all of that?"

"Uh…nothing. So it was something good then?" His phone was now put away, for now.

"Yeah. Rose went up and sang Teenage Dream and Em dragged her off in the middle of it."

"Ha, no way. That's awesome. Too bad I missed it." Jasper drank the rest of his beer, again looking at the song book.

"Jas, can I ask you a question?" The pitcher and a half of beer gave me courage. I wanted to; no I _needed to_ talk to him about Bella.

"Sure man, what's up?" The song book was back on the table, his glass was filled again and so was mine then he just looked at me expectantly.

"I wanted to ask you about Bella." Was that vague enough?

"Okay, what about Bella?"

"Um, well. I guess I should first ask what's going on with you? Em's noticed there's something off, the phone calls, the goofy smiles, the texting, what's going on man?" I really hoped he was going to answer me honestly.

He looked over at Bella before turning his attention back to me. "Okay, well I met this girl at the airport when I went to San Diego for that conference."

He what? "You what? You met a girl? Dude that was like a fucking month ago!" I really had to remember to keep my voice down.

"Shhh, geez. Listen, I was going down to baggage claim and this petite little thing yelled at me to wait then she slipped me a piece of paper with her name and phone number on it. She just walked away after that and I was left there at the top of the fucking escalator staring at her with my jaw on the floor. Don't give me that look Edward; I know what you're thinking. I didn't call her."

"You obviously did call her at some point Jasper. Holy shit. I'm going to have to kill you now, you know that right?"

"Can I finish please?"

"Please, go ahead and give me more of a reason to kick your ass, make it real good and I'll have Emmett get in on the action to." I was pissed, beyond pissed, how could he do this to Bella?

"I threw the number away and just went on with my life, happy, or relatively happy with Bella, then a week and a half ago I saw her at the coffee shop by my office. So she saunters up to me, with her hand on her hip and asks why I haven't called her. I told her I was with someone and she asked if I was happy. I really thought about it. Bella's great, don't get me wrong, she's amazing, but I've just been feeling like…"

"Like what Jasper?"

"Like there just wasn't that spark there, you know that connection, so I told her I wasn't sure. I don't know why I told her that, I just feel this connection with her, she makes me want to tell her things and I don't know how she does it. She has this aura about her, she makes me feel…alive." He got that stupid ass grin on his face again and I wanted to punch him, I was just about to too before he started talking again and spoke the words I had been waiting for. "I'm going to break things off with Bella."

"JAS! What do you know about this girl? You're just going to break up with Bella?" Why am I trying to talk him out of this again? _I have no fucking clue._

"She's moving here from California in a week, she's funny, smart and just from the week and half that I've been talking to her I've actually realized that although Bella is a great girl she's not the one for me. I've been struggling with this for a few days now, but I'm going to do it tomorrow. It's only fair to Bella." I almost felt bad for him, he looked, I don't know, disappointed in himself and sad, but the anger at him cheating on Bella took over.

"You're a real piece of work, you know that? How could you do this to Bella? What's this girls name anyway?" I wanted to know the name of the woman that didn't give a rat's ass that he was involved with the most wonderful woman I had ever met and went after her boyfriend just for the hell of it.

"Alice. Her name is Alice." What. The. Fuck?

"Alice? Are you fucking kidding me Jas?" He looked downright surprised by my outburst.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Maybe it wasn't her what I was thinking. There could be a million girls named Alice for all I knew, but something in the back of my mind told me it was more than likely the same fucking girl. Bella's best friend's name was Alice, she is petite, just as Jasper described, lived in California and was moving here this week. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not.

"Bella's best friend?" Please tell me something about this girl that will give me some kind of indication that it's not Bella's friend.

"No, it couldn't be the same girl. I mean there's gotta be a million Alice's. It can't be." The look on his face told me that he was putting all the things he knew about this girl and Bella's friend together and seeing how they measured up.

"You better fucking hope not man, otherwise…" I just shook my head, I couldn't even think what Bella would do if this chick were her best friend.

"I hope you're right, for your sake." I drained the rest of my beer and paid my portion of the tab. "I'll see ya Jas. I got an early morning, so I gotta go." I shook my head again not knowing what else to say to my best friend who was about to rip the heart out of the girl I wanted more than anything. I really hoped that this didn't completely destroy her.

I hadn't heard anything from Jasper or Emmett or anyone else on how things went with Bella since I was swamped with work. I even missed karaoke night at Eclipse on Thursday. I was feeling anxious; this is what not seeing Bella did to me. It was now Saturday and I was at home getting ready to head over to Requiems for Bella's show. I really wanted to see how she was doing, make sure she was okay. I talked to Emmett earlier and he said he and Rosalie were going to be there, as well as Jake and Paul. He didn't mention Jas, knowing how I felt about what he did to Bella, even if he was there I didn't care, I needed to be there for her.

Tanya was at the club and greeted me with a hug when I got there, she lead me to a table at the table in front of the stage. She was going off about Jasper and how he broke up with Bella and how she was oddly taking it somewhat okay. She wasn't happy about him talking to another woman for the past 2 weeks, obviously, but she told me that Bella seemed almost relieved. It made me feel slightly better knowing she was alright.

"I know she'll appreciate you being here. Rose and Em should be here any minute and it looks like Jake and Paul just arrived. Have a good time tonight Edward and…good luck." Tanya winked at me then went back to the bar, apparently she was tending bar tonight. Tanya's husband introduced Bella and when she came up on stage my breathing hitched. Her hair was straight and her make-up was minimal except for her eyes, it really made her eyes pop, she looked beautiful. Her first song nearly broke my heart. She must have written it when thinkgs started falling apart with Jasper.

"Everyone having a good time so far?" Bella said once she had taken her seat, her guitar was situated to her liking and she started strumming. Her voice was beautiful, soulful; you could tell that she was hurting when she wrote this song, even though the tempo was upbeat.

_I used to think one day we'd tell the story of us,  
How we met and the sparks flew instantly,  
People would say they're the lucky ones.  
I used to know my place was a spot next to you,  
Now I'm searching the room for an empty seat,  
'Cause lately I don't even know what page you're on._

_Oh a simple complication,  
Miscommunications lead to fall-out.  
Too many things that I wish you knew,  
So many walls that I can't break through._

_Now I'm standing alone in a crowded room and we're not speaking,  
And I'm dying to know is it killing you like it's killing me, yeah.  
I don't know what to say, it's a twist of fate when it all broke down,  
And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now._

_Next chapter_

_How'd we end up this way?  
See me nervously pulling at my clothes and trying to look busy,  
You're doing your best to avoid me.  
I started to think one day I'd tell the story of us,  
How I was losing my mind when I saw you here,  
But you held your pride like you should've held me._

_Oh, I'm scared to see the ending,  
Why are we pretending this is nothing?  
I'd tell you I miss you but I don't know how,  
I've never heard silence quite this loud._

_Now I'm standing alone in a crowded room and we're not speaking,  
And I'm dying to know is it killing you like it's killing me, yeah.  
I don't know what to say, it's a twist of fate when it all broke down,  
And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now._

_This is looking like a contest,  
Of who can act like the careless,  
But I liked it better when you were on my side.  
The battle's in your hands now,  
But I would lay my armor down  
If you say you'd rather love than fight.  
So many things that you wished I knew,  
But the story of us might be ending soon._

_Now I'm standing alone in a crowded room and we're not speaking,  
And I'm dying to know is it killing you like it's killing me, yeah.  
I don't know what to say, it's a twist of fate when it all broke down,  
And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now, now, now.  
And we're not speaking,  
And I'm dying to know is it killing you like it's killing me, yeah.  
I don't know what to say, it's a twist of fate 'cause we're going down,  
And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now._

_The end._

Speechless is what I was, I didn't take my eyes off her once and everyone at the table just looked sad for her, there was of course clapping and whistling, she's nothing short of amazing. Bella said nothing, just starting in on the next song, one I have heard her sing up here before, it was the song she sang "For Jamie", you could definitely tell what kind of mood she was in tonight by her song choices. Emmett, who was sitting next to me, elbowed me in the ribs, when I looked at him he motioned me to him I leaned in a little closer.

"Jas is back there." When I looked behind me I searched the crowd and found him in a dark booth in the back. "Should we go talk to him?"

"You can if you want, but I'm still pissed at him." I had no intention of talking to him right now, I needed to wait and cool down a bit before I tried an actual conversation with Jasper.

"Yeah. Okay, I'm going to go talk to him, be right back." He was up out of his seat then leaned down again like he forgot something. "Don't tell Rose, okay? Say I went to the bathroom or something, but if she sees him, there's going to be a scene." I nodded, silently telling him that I wouldn't say anything to her and he was venturing to the back of the club to talk to Jas.

Thankfully Rose never asked where Emmett went, just concentrating on her friend singing up on stage. Bella finished two songs before Emmett returned to his seat.

"He's messed up man, so fucking messed up." Emmett told me after he said something to Rose.

"Yeah well, too bad." I had no sympathy for him right now, he did this to himself.

"Edward. He made a mistake; he's sorry and misses his friends. He told me to tell you that Bella was fair game now so you should go for it." Okay, that did it.

"Fair game? FAIR GAME! What the fuck Em? She's not a game to me." I tried to be quiet, but seeing as Jake, Paul and Rose were all staring at me I guess I wasn't doing a good enough job of it.

"I know Edward." Emmett shook his head sadly, while everyone else turned back around, waiting for Bella to come back and went back to their conversations. I wanted to know what else Jas said to Emmett, but not bad enough to ask him to tell me. I'd find out later, when there wasn't a bunch of people around to hear me yelling.

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**A/N: Alright, so that's it. The songs for this chapter were Brandon Flowers "Lay Your Body Down", Katy Perry "Teenage Dream" and the lovely Taylor Swift "Story of Us". Next chapter will have Bella's take on what went down with Jasper. **

**Please review and as an incentive I'll give everyone who reviews a paragraph from Chapter 10.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry this is late. Lots going on in real life, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Thanksgiving again at my house on Saturday and to top it all off my birthday was yesterday and I was busy getting my very first tattoo and boy does it hurt. So here's the new chapter for you, I hope you enjoy it. Just a warning, if you're not over 18 stop here. There is some violence of sexual nature in this chapter, so you've been warned. (You can skip over the section in italics of you don't want to read it and you'll be fine).**

**As always I do not own Twilight, but I do own a new awesome tattoo now and a Kindle (YAY) as of yesterday.**

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BPOV

Jasper seemed to be getting more and more distant. During his lesson this week he was nothing but business, no sly touches or looks that made my knees weak, no "Wait, I think you need to show me exactly where you want my hands" then afterwards he said he was tired and needed to get home. We always, always go out to dinner after his lesson, never has he bailed on me before, unless of course he was out of town. It was weird and unnerving to say the least. He was definitely pulling away from me.

When I talked to Rose about it on Tuesday night, before Emmett dragged her out caveman style, I confided in her that we hadn't had sex yet and thought maybe that was why he was drifting away from me. Maybe he had just had it waiting for the broken girl. Rose being Rose assured me that if that was the case than he was a fucking idiot and didn't deserve me anyway. Oh and she said that if he broke up with me with that as the reason then she'd cut his balls off and feed them to him. Yeah, you don't want to mess with Rose, I was glad to have her on my side.

Tuesday night at Eclipse ended and Jasper left me with a kiss on the cheek and an "I'll see ya tomorrow". Edward stayed to help me and walk me to my car as usual, but he was looking at me funny, like he felt pity for me. Did Jasper tell him something to give him that look in his eyes? It wasn't long before I found out the answer.

Wednesday night after my lesson with Tyler I was sitting in my apartment, alone, making dinner, homemade mushroom ravioli, and my absolute favorite when there was a knock at my door. To my surprise it was Jasper. He gave me a kiss that felt like something you'd give your sister, not your girlfriend. He took a seat at the breakfast bar, watching me cook and said he was hungry so I offered him dinner; he is my boyfriend after all, right? All through dinner he was relatively quiet, we talked a little about how our weeks went and he told me about how much help one of his patients needed, he was really frustrated with her because she had no self esteem what so ever.

"I just don't understand how someone could feel _that_ bad about themselves, you know what I mean Bella? She's a great girl, beautiful, has a stable good paying job and does all sorts of charity throughout the community. You would think a person like that could at least feel good about herself." He shook his head, clearly exasperated with this person. I felt bad for him. Once dinner was finished and the dishes had been cleaned up we went to the couch, that's when I found out why he'd been so distant lately.

"I'm an awful person Bella."

"What? No Jas, you could never be an awful person. Why would you even say that?" I was the one who was a horrible person, I can't imagine what he was talking about, and he's an amazing person.

He ran his hand through his wavy blond locks and took a deep breath. Oh boy, this was going to be bad, I could feel it. Did he cheat on me? What if he has a wife or something that I don't know about? Oh God what if he really is going to break things off with me because I'm not ready for sex with him. "Bella, I have something to tell you."

"I kind of figured that out Jas. What's going on? You can tell me, I'm a big girl." I was trying to be strong on the outside even though I felt like falling apart on the inside.

"Okay, here goes." He took another deep breath then lifted his eyes to mine before he spoke. "You know when I went away to my conference a few weeks ago…"

"To California, yeah?"

"Okay, well when I was there I met this girl, well she pretty much chased me down and gave me her number. I threw her number away, but I couldn't get my mind off her. When I came back home I tried to forget about her and it was sort of working, we were getting closer and were starting to get more physical, but a week later I ran into her at the coffee shop near my office and…well to make a long story short…oh boy…um, we've been talking ever since." He looked down at the floor, but I just sat there, mouth wide open and blinking furiously. What do I say to that? I'm upset, but do I really have a right to be with all the thoughts and feelings coursing through me about his best friend?

"So let me get this straight, you've been 'talking' to another woman, behind my back, for the last two weeks?" He nodded, still not bothering to look at me. "And what Jasper?" I raised my voice a bit, the hurt coming out in the form of anger. "Is it because we haven't had sex, you need to find some other woman who will give you what you want physically because I'm not doing it for you?"

"What? No! Bella, all we've done is talked. She doesn't even live here." He tried to continue, but I cut him off before he could.

"She doesn't live here?" I was pissed, because apparently this person, who lives God knows where is giving him more than I, who lives in the same city as he does, am giving him. Yeah, that's a blow to the ego. "What do you want from me Jasper?" I whispered the last part.

"Bella, you know I care about you." I huffed, yeah right, he cares so much that he's having phone conversations on a regular basis with someone else. "I do. Fuck, I'm so bad at this. Look, you're an amazing woman, but you can't tell me that you feel anything more for me then just a really close friendship. I've seen the way you look at Edward and the way you talk to him, there's something there Bella, something stronger and different then what we share. I love you like a best friend and I really hope that we can be that at some point. I know you're pissed at me, and you have every right to be, but.."

"No, you're right. We are more like friends, but that doesn't make this hurt any less Jasper." It was my turn to look at the floor and take a deep breath. I knew I had to let him off the hook, what he was saying was entirely right and really I've done far worse to him, kissing his best friend, what's wrong with me? I have no right to make him feel bad about doing nothing more that talking to someone. "Jasper, I…"

Jasper's finger pressed into my lips, effectively silencing me. "It's okay Bella. I don't need to hear you say it. I should have told you about what was going on with me as soon as it happened, but I kept thinking the thoughts of her would just go away after some time and we could move forward, but when I ran into her here it just felt like something I needed to see through, I felt this connection to her, like nothing I've ever felt before. I'm so sorry Bella, I really am. Do..do you think we can be friends?"

"I think we can manage that Jas." I leaned in and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. I actually felt relieved, I hadn't lost him as a friend and I hoped whoever this girl was, she treated him right, he deserved it. "I'm just warning you as soon as Rose finds out about this she's going to want to kick your ass." We both laughed.

"Yeah well, she'll have to get in line." I looked at him, confused, who else wants to kick his ass? "Edward and probably Emmett too." He pulled back and moved to get up. Before he left he turned back to say something else. "Give him a chance Bell, he's a good man." Then he was gone, no longer my boyfriend, but hopefully we could manage the friend thing. I sat there on my couch going over his words. _Give him a chance. He's a good man._ Could it really be that easy? The next couple of days went by without incident. I told Rosalie that Jasper and I broke up, of course she wanted a full account of what was said on both sides and when I told her that he had been talking to some girl she offered to cut off his balls. Emmett called later that night to make sure I was alright; it seems he had talked to Jasper and was concerned for my well being. Rose told him that I was alright as I worked on the song I was writing about Jasper. I started it last week when I felt him pulling away from me and now that we were broken up the rest of the lyrics just flooded my mind and I needed to get them down on paper and fast.

Thursday I did my usual night at Eclipse, I didn't talk to anyone though, Edward had to work that night, so he wasn't there, it was somewhat of a relief to not have him there so I could sort out my thoughts. Friday I went over the songs I was going to sing the following night, Alice was supposed to be moving in on Sunday, Rose and I were going to help her unpack, the movers she hired were scheduled to be here bright and early Sunday morning. Alice was getting in late Saturday and staying at a hotel even though I offered for her the couch at our place. She said she didn't want to bother us since she'd be getting in so late, and since I was playing at Requiem's that night who knew what time we'd actually be home. Rose said she and Emmett would be there and so would Jake and Paul, I wasn't sure if Jas was going to come, I hadn't talked to him since Wednesday night. Edward, I assumed was going to be there, so I needed to figure out what I was going to say to him. Was I ready to start something with him? I had been thinking about things for the past couple of days and I came to the conclusion that yes, I would give Edward a chance, if he wanted it. The fact that things with Jasper and I had just ended made me wary of starting things up so soon with someone else, no matter what anyone else said about it.

Saturday was spent just fine tuning the song I finished, I really wanted to play it tonight, it was important to me for some reason. "Bella?" Rose's voice rang out in the living room.

"I'm in here Rose." I answered her from the confines of my bedroom.

"Hey. I just got off the phone with Emmett and he says that both Jasper and Edward are planning on coming tonight. I just wanted to let you know and make sure you were going to be alright."

"I figured as much and yeah, its fine. I'll be fine."

She took a seat on my bed so I knew she wanted to talk. "Have you given any more thought to the topic of Edward?"

"Actually….I have."

"And?" Rose encouraged.

"Annndd. I think that I will give him a chance, but I still feel weird about jumping into something after just breaking up with Jasper." Rose rolled her eyes at me. She and I have had this conversation many times over the last few days.

"Oh my God Bella! You cannot be serious right now. You know Jasper is getting more and more involved with that little tart he's been talking to. She's moving here for Christ's sake."

"WHAT?" I was shocked; his new girl was moving here? And here I thought I'd never have to see her. I know I shouldn't be put out by it, the breakup was a friendly and mutual decision and like I said before I had kissed Edward while Jas and I were together. I had no right to be mad about this, but I had to wonder if this girl knew that Jas had a girlfriend and if she did what kind of person actively goes after someone else's boyfriend? _What does that say about Edward though or myself for that matter?_

"I know. I already hate her." It was my turn to roll my eyes at her. "What? You know you hate her too B."

"Yeah well, you're right. I gotta hop in the shower though. Will you help me find something to wear and do my hair?"

"AHA! You want to look good for Edward, I KNEW IT! There's no way you can resist that man Bella."

"Shut up!" She smacked me on the ass when I passed her to go into the bathroom. When I came back out she had laid out what she wanted me to wear, complete with the bra and panties, like anyone was going to see that tonight. I yelled out a thanks and her response was to hurry my skinny ass up.

After I was dressed I called Rose back in here so she could help me with my hair and she did a great job. It was blown dry, and then she used some hair product that smelled amazing. She took a flat iron to it and I'm telling you my hair never looked so shiny.

"Thank you Rose, it looks great."

"You're welcome. Here, let me help you with your make up." I gave her a look, she knew I hated too much make-up, I was a simple girl, mascara and lip gloss and I was good to go. "Don't give me that look. I just want to make your eyes pop. I won't go overboard, I promise." I consented and of course she made me look fabulous. My eyes were smoky and my lips subdued, it really brought out my natural features without being too much. "There, let's knock that boy's socks off."

Backstage I was feeling a little less nervous after the three shots of Jack I took. Demetri walked in as I finished my fourth shot. "You ready Bella?" I nodded, not able to speak at the moment. I was psyching myself up. "Alright rock star, let's go." Tanya usually was backstage with me, but she was bartending tonight, her usual guy called in sick and they couldn't get anyone to cover for him. She did bring me the bottle of JD when I got here and gave me a hug.

I started the night off with the song I wrote this week and it got an unbelievable reaction. People were on their feet clapping and whistling, it made me happy since the song was so personal for me. I was in a strange dark mood, which I wasn't expecting so the next song choice was _Tell Me Why_, the song about Jamie. I took a short break after my third song, a cover of One Republic's _Mercy_, it fit with the last two songs. When I got backstage Tay was there with my chicken sandwich and diet coke. "YOU are a life saver!" I told her. She laughed and said she knew before going back to the bar. I hated when she actually had to work, I miss our fun banter whenever we hung out backstage. I was mid bite when I heard someone come into the room. I looked back and saw Edward and he looked really upset.

"Hey, what's the matter?" He didn't answer, just continued walking towards me. He stood in front of me, and then pulled me up by the arms. I looked at him like he was crazy; I had no idea what he was doing.

"I'm sorry Bella." He pulled me to him and hugged me so tight I was certain I was going to have bruises. "He's an asshole Bella, I am so, so sorry."

"Edward?" He pulled back and thankfully loosened his grip on me, but didn't let me go. "What are you apologizing for?"

"For Jasper."

"You don't need to apologize for him and he's not an asshole. Well not completely."

"I can't believe he did that to you Bella. He shouldn't have done it."

"Yes, that's true but is it any worse than you and I kissing while I was with him?" He looked at me for a second, and then grinned.

"I guess not." I hugged him again; it felt good t be in his arms. "Are you okay? I was so worried about you, I just had to come back here and check on you."

"Why were you worried?"

"Those songs. That first one was about Jasper, right? I mean, it was so…sad and then the other two. I just felt like I needed to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine. I did write that song for Jasper, but we're fine. Really, we're even going to try to be friends."

"Okay, that's good." He pulled back from me again and tucked a strand of hair back, his thumb grazed my cheek.

"Uh, Bell? It's time to get back out there." Demetri came and went. I looked at Edward again and was happy to see that he looked far more relaxed then he did when he came back here.

"I guess I should let you do your thing. I'll be right at the table in front if you need me." Edward placed a sweet kiss on my forehead and headed for the door.

"Edward?" I called after him. He stopped with his hand on the doorknob then looked up at me. "Thank you."

"For what you silly beautiful girl?"

"For being so sweet and coming back here to check on me, it means a lot."

"No problem at all Bella. Have a good rest of the show." He walked through the door and I was alone again, feeling a lot better than I did when I got here.

"Bella! It's time to go on love, let's go." Demetri said from just behind the stage. He was tapping his foot impatiently waiting for me. This is yet another reason I loved it when Tay was back here instead, she wasn't as pushy as her husband.

"Alright Demetri, don't get your panties in a wad." I followed him back onstage and finished my set. I decided that I'd sing _Hey Stephen _and _Wild Horses_ for the second part of the show, as I finished up _Hey Stephen_ I chanced a look at the tables in the front and found Edward there, just as he promised, smiling at me. He was too damn adorable, Rose is right, there's no way I could ever resist him.

After three more upbeat covers I was done for the night, when I got backstage to my room I wasn't surprised to see Jas standing there. "Hey, you were amazing out there tonight Bella."

I put my guitar back in her case trying to not feel weird around him now, but it wasn't working. "Thanks." I said curtly, all while packing up my things.

"So this is how things are going to be with us now? I thought we agreed to try and be friends Bella." I could feel him closing in on me and I didn't like the feeling, not that I thought Jasper would ever physically hurt me, but I was upset about his girlfriend moving here. How was this going to work, we had the same friends now, I was going to have to see her

"I said I'd try Jasper." I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. I needed to confront him about what Rose told me. "Why didn't you tell me this girl you've been talking to was moving here?"

"Uh…oh…shit. Where did you hear that?" He stammered.

"Rose told me earlier. What were going to do, just show up with her at Eclipse, pretend nothing ever happened between us and think I would be okay with that?"

"No, of course not Bella. I was going to tell you but I didn't want to upset you any more than I already have. Look if you want me to lay off going to karaoke night or coming here then I will. Edward already doesn't want me around so..." He cut himself off, he was still close to me, I could feel him. I still had yet to turn around or look at him; the posters on the wall were safer than looking at his face right now. "I _am_ sorry Bella. I never wanted to hurt you, I swear. For what it's worth, that song, it made me feel like shit, but it was incredible. I've never had someone write a song about me before and as much as I wished it put me in a better light, it was really good."

"Thank you." I wasn't sure what else to say to him. What did he want me to say? "Look Jasper, I don't know what you want me to say here."

"I just want you to talk to me, be my friend."

"I'll try Jas." His hands went to my upper arms and he turned me to face him.

"Oh pretty girl, please don't cry." He enveloped me in his strong arms and I let it all out. I cried into his chest for God knows how long. It felt good to get it out as he rubbed my back whispering that everything would be alright as he did it. I finally managed to get myself under control and looked at him. He looked so sad and it broke my damn heart.

"I'm sorry for that." I told him, wiping the remnants of my tears off my face.

"No need to apologize, really. For what it's worth, you're an amazing woman Bella. Whoever you decide is worthy of your beautiful heart is going to be one lucky man." Then he kissed me. There was no tongue; as far as kisses go it was all very innocent, but it felt like I was cheating on Edward and I felt wrong. I pushed him away, not wanting to have that with him any longer. He walked me to my car and I made it home without bursting into tears. I noticed my phone flashing with missed calls and several text messages. I decided to just check the texts for now and go off to bed. There was one from Edward, one from Tay and two from Rose.

**Bella, I wanted to wait for you, but Emmett told me that Jasper wanted to talk to you. I waited for half an hour, but Tanya kicked me out, so I'm home now. Call me if you need anything. – Edward**

He really was a sweet guy and I definitely needed to talk to him, but it could wait until tomorrow. I hit reply and sent him a quick response.

**Edward, I'm home and fine. Jasper and I talked a bit and although I'm still not happy about things I am feeling a bit better. Thank you for caring; I'll let you know if I need anything, I promise. Goodnight. – Bella**

Next I checked Tanya's message.

**B – You did awesome tonight babe. I came backstage to see you but you looked to be having a heated conversation with J. I want details on what that a-hole said to you tomorrow. Love ya. – Tay**

I typed out a quick reply telling her I'd tell her all about it tomorrow before I moved on to Rose's texts.

**Bella – I know Jasper's talking to you right now, but if you need me I'm right outside. I can be in there to separate him from his balls in 20 seconds if you need me, just say the word. I got your back B. – Rose**

I snickered at her words, I had no doubt that had I needed her she really would have removed his balls for me.

**B – You've been in there a while. I hope you're alright. Look, I'm spending the night at Em's but if you need me to come home you let me know and I'll be there. – R**

**Rose – Thanks for the concern, I'm fine though. We had a talk; I called him out on his shit. You have a good time with Emmett and I'll see you tomorrow. Night sweetie. – B**

I shut off my phone then got dressed for bed. After washing my face and brushing my teeth I got myself into bed. I was out in no time blissfully dreaming of Edwards hands on me, too bad my blissful sleep didn't last long.

I woke up two hours later feeling the start of a panic attack. I clutched my chest trying somehow to slow it down.

_I was in bed for the night, finally drifting off to sleep when Jamie came home. He was loud walking into the room, throwing his wallet, keys, shoes and clothes all over the place. I would swear he was trying to make as much noise as possible._

"_Bellllllllla….are..(hiccup)….you….(hiccup)…awake…babe?" Great he's drunk, again. I'm just going to pretend to be asleep and hopefully he'll leave me alone. "Bellaaa" He whispered in my ear, his breath smelled like tequila and it made me want to throw up. I stayed still, trying to keep my breathing shallow, but then his hand wrapped around me from behind and his hand started to wander. Up or down, which way was he going to go? Apparently he wanted to move his hand upward. His hand forcefully groped by breast as he left wet sloppy kisses on my neck._

"_Bellla, I know you're awake. You can't fool me baby." He squeezed my breast harder and I fought the urge to cry out in pain, he got off on causing me pain. "I want you Bella." The painful ministrations continued as well as the disgusting slurping sounding kisses on my neck. I thanked whatever deity was up there that he finally had moved away from my now tender breasts, but now they were headed lower and I was suddenly mad. I didn't want him touching me there any longer, so I pushed his arm off me. "You fucking bitch! You DON'T EVER PUSH ME! DO YOU HEAR ME? YOU ARE MINE AND I WILL TAKE YOU WHEREVER AND WHENEVER I WANT!_

"_NO Jamie! You can't treat me like a whore."_

"_But that's what you are Bella. You're my property and I will do whatever I see fit with my property." Jamie had turned me onto my back and was hovering over me now, his breath fanning over my face. My attempts at pushing him off of me were futile since he was using every bit of his body weight to hold me down._

"_NO! I WON'T LET YOU! NO, JAMIE! PLEASE!" I started flailing, kicking and crying but nothing deterred him. He had someone managed to take off my pants and underwear as well as his own. His hand was covering my mouth as I screamed and cried for him to stop. I tried with all my might to keep my leg clenched closed, but he was stronger. His free hand and knees pulled my legs open and I just knew there were going to be bruises. I must have screamed when he did it, because he then got really mad, told me to "shut the fuck up" and slapped me in the face. The sting brought on another round of tears._

_Jamie moved above me, situating himself at my entrance, once he was where he wanted to be he rammed into me and holy fuck id it hurt. I felt like I was being split in two as he continued to pound into me, every thrust rougher and deeper. I continued to cry and he continued to yell at me as his thrusts got harder and harder. He finished moments later and rolled off me, immediately passing out. I sobbed while I curled into myself. He'd done that a couple of times and the next morning it was always the same. He'd be extra sweet to me, make me breakfast in bed and tell me how much he loved me. It never lasted long because only hours later he'd be telling me that I was worthless and didn't know how I thought anyone besides him would ever love someone like me._

_The next morning I went to the police, I didn't take a shower, knowing that it would help put the bastard away if there was physical evidence._

**EPOV**

To say I was worried would be an understatement. Emmett talked to Jasper again during the second half of Bella's performance and when he came back he said that Jas planned on talking to her after she was done with her set.

I saw Jasper walk backstage once Bella mentioned that this was her last song, I wanted so badly to warn her that he'd be back there waiting for her, but I had no way to do that. I decided that I'd wait for her to finish her talk with Jasper and then I'd walk her to her car or maybe take her out for a drink if she felt like she needed it. I just wanted to be there for her. All of our friends cleared out, Rose and Emmett stuck around for about fifteen minutes but then she gave me a hug and told me to call if we needed her. She had faith that I would be there to take care of Bella for her. I told her not to worry and have a good time with Emmett. After half an hour the bar was closing up and I had yet to see Bella or Jasper. I hoped she was alright. Tanya came over to me when the last person was out the door.

"I know you want to stay here for her Edward, but I need to close up."

"Are you kicking me out Tanya?" I gave her my best puppy dog look, hoping she'd let me stay until Bella came out.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm doing." I gave her a look that said "please let me stay here for her" but it didn't work. "Look, she's a big girl, she can take care of herself and you and I both know that Jasper would never do anything to hurt her." I gave her another look that said, "You're kidding me right?" "Okay, I see your point. Demetri is in his office which is just a few feet away from where she is. Go home. Call her, text her, whatever, but you can't stay here pretty boy."

"Pretty boy?"

"Yeah, you heard me, now scram."

"You're an evil bitch you know that Tanya?" I smirked at her, letting her see that I was just kidding with her. As much as I didn't want to leave Bella here, I knew Jasper would make sure she got home alright, other than the talking to another woman while he was dating Bella, he was a good guy. "Yeah, okay. I'm going. Goodnight Tanya."

"Night Edward. Drive safe." I waved at her as I made my way to the front door. Once I was in my car I decided to send Bella a text then drove home. I got a response from her about half an hour later telling me she was home which I was happy about. I really hoped I would see her again before Tuesday; I was desperate to make sure she was okay. I couldn't sleep at all that night worried that Bella was lying in bed crying over Jasper. He didn't deserve her tears.

My alarm went off at six and I still had yet to sleep a wink, but I would just have to get through my day at the hospital. Thankfully I wasn't working any crazy hours, or at least I wasn't supposed to, but you never know at the hospital. I showered and grabbed some coffee from the pot of freshly brewed stuff. I was never so happy that my coffee maker had a timer than I was at this moment.

"Morning Dr. Cullen." Kate, one of the nurses greeted me as I walked in. I was grabbing a patient's chart to start my rounds.

"Good morning beautiful nurse Kate. How are you this morning?" I gave her my signature smile and she giggled, as usual. It was part of our usual morning pleasantries. I flirt with her, she flirts with me, it starts our morning off right. Her husband, Garrett, of five years knows all about it and thinks it's hilarious, he's a good guy. He's a psychiatrist, like Jasper, and has his own practice downtown. He comes in sometimes to take Kate to lunch or dinner and we shoot the shit while he waits for her, if I'm not busy that is.

"Better now that you're here McDreamy." I tried to give her a stern look, but couldn't help the laughter that was brimming at the surface. McDreamy, who comes up with these ridiculous names?

"You know if you don't watch it Kate I'm going to have to come up with a nickname for you too."

"Promises, promises." She chuckled out. "Oh, Edward, Garrett is coming to get me for lunch today; he wanted to make sure you were around so he could talk to you."

"Okay, just page me when he gets here. See ya later Katie." With my charts in hand I started my rounds.

Most of my patients were doing well this morning and things were going smoothly. I did have one surgery that needed my immediate attention, George was getting his appendix taken out, he was in really bad shape when he came into the ER this morning, they were about to burst and I needed to get in there quickly before that happened. Removing an appendix isn't the most exciting of surgeries, but at least it's something to do other than paperwork. The surgery went through flawlessly and George was in his room recuperating with his wife by his side. The moment I saw the couple I immediately felt envious of them. I wanted someone to sit by my bedside, holding my hand and running their fingers through my hair to comfort me and what I really wanted, if I can be brutally honest, was that person to be Bella. I know I haven't even dated the girl yet, but in the short amount of time that I've known her, she's turned my world completely off its axis.

"Good Morning George, Mrs. Kemper, how are we feeling?" I scanned his chart to make sure everything looked good then looked at my patient. The surgery had been a couple of hours ago and it appeared he was doing just fine.

"Good morning Dr. Cullen. I feel sore, but otherwise alright." George responded, his wife looking at him lovingly.

"Glad to hear it George. The surgery was a success; I got the appendix out without any problems at all. You'll have some discomfort around where I had to make the incision, but we'll give you pain medication for that. The nurses will keep an eye on you while you're here and make you as comfortable as possible. Now do you have any questions for me?"

"Yeah, when can I get out of here?" George asked.

"Normally a patient stays with us for four or five days with this type of surgery." George grimaced at my answer; he very clearly wanted to go home sooner than that. "We have to make sure there's no swelling, or signs of infection George, how are we supposed to do that if you're at home?"

"I know doc, but I hate being here."

"I'm sorry George, but you'll be out of here before you know it. Now get some rest and I'll make sure to check in on you once more before I leave for the day."

"Thank you Doctor." Mrs. Kemper said to me as I made to leave the room. I gave her a nod and went back to work.

I had quite a few other patients that came in needing my immediate attention that morning and before I knew it it was noon, Garrett should be here soon and I wondered what he wanted to talk to me about.

At 12:30 my pager went off, I assumed it was Kate letting me know Garrett was there, so I made my way over to the nurses' station and saw Garrett giving Kate a kiss.

"You know that sort of thing isn't allowed on the floor you two. There's the on call room for that." I teased, slowly approaching them. I was wary of Kate; she usually threw something at me if I made a snarky comment.

"Har de har har Cullen." Kate turned to her husband then, "I'm going to go use the ladies room before we go. Be right back." She kissed him on the cheek then left in the direction of the bathrooms.

"Hey man, what's going on?" Garrett asked me.

"Not too much, how about yourself?"

"Oh you know, same shit different day."

"Anything interesting going on at work?" I asked.

"Not really. Even if there was anything interesting it's not like I could tell anyone, you know. Oh but this one patient I have, God, she's beautiful. If I weren't happily married to Kate…"

"And if she wasn't your patient…" I chuckled, knowing full well that Garrett was one of the best psychiatrists in the city and would never, ever get involved with one of his patients, even if he weren't married to Kate.

"Right. So listen man, I ran into Emmett a couple of days ago and he tells me you're big into the karaoke thing now. Kate's always wanted to try it and I was wondering where you went."

"Garrett, you could have asked Emmett, he goes too."

"I did, but he was in a hurry to get somewhere, something about some hot blonde and he couldn't remember the name of the place. I wasn't about to get in his way, by the look in his eyes I could tell he was on his way to getting something from that blonde and who am I to stand between and man and a hot piece of ass."

We both laughed, I knew how Emmett was when he was out to get some and with he and Rosalie having sex now I'm positive they were doing it regularly. He'd be a man on a mission and trivial things like the name of the bar we do karaoke at would have completely been a lost cause.

"Yeah, well she's not some piece of ass. I think he's pretty serious about the girl. They've been dating for a couple of months now if you can believe it."

"What? NO! Emmett McCarty settling down? I never thought I'd see the day." Garrett was shocked; Emmett was a bit of a ladies' man until he met Rose.

"No joke man. Anyway to answer your question the name of the place we go is called Eclipse, it's a decent bar and the song selection is the best in the city. It's a pretty cool place, you should definitely take Kate there sometime, she'd love it." I told him honestly.

"Sounds like a great place, thanks Edward." My phone started ringing, which was odd since everyone knows not to call me while I'm at work unless it's an emergency.

"Hold on Garrett." I picked up my phone looking at the caller ID and saw it was Emmett. "Hey Em, I'm wor…"

"EDWARD! Oh thank God. There's an emergency."

"Who is this?" I asked, not recognizing the female voice on the other end.

"It's Rose. Look, there's something wrong with Bella. We've called the ambulance and they should be getting here soon. Edward…oh God." Then something unexpected happened, Rosalie Hale started crying. "Rose, give me the phone babe." I heard Emmett say on the other end.

"Emmett, what the hell is going on?" I was near a panic attack right now. There was something wrong with Bella and they needed to call an ambulance. What the hell was going on?

"Edward. Man, it's bad. It looks like she took some anti-anxiety pills and there is a half empty bottle of vodka on the counter in the kitchen. I think she mixed Edward. Shit, the EMT's are here. We're coming to you. I just wanted to give you a heads up so you can prepare yourself. "

"Yeah…okay." I think I heard Emmett say goodbye but I couldn't be sure. I dropped my phone onto the floor, not even bothering to hang it up first.

"Edward…Edward!" Kate was suddenly in front of me shaking me by my shoulders. "Edward, what's going on?"

"Bella." My knees gave out and I was on the floor. "Oh fuck. Bella. Please no." I felt wetness on my face and I knew I was crying and at that point I didn't care who saw me. The girl I love is on her way to the hospital with a possible overdose.

* * *

**Please don't hurt me. Review guys and you'll get a little peek at next chapter.**


	11. Chapter 11

**I know some of you are getting impatient waiting for Bella and Edward to get together and I'm sorry for the wait, but I have to do this on my timeline. Thank you to all that take the time to review and to all my new readers, you know who you are, Welcome!**

**Stephenie Meyer is the genius behind Twilight, I do not own it or it's characters.**

**EPOV**

I stood outside pacing waiting for Bella's ambulance to get here. Why weren't they here already? It's been fifteen minutes. What the fuck is going on? I stopped when I heard sirens coming in the distance, that just had to be her, please God let that be her, oh and if you could make her alright for me I swear that I will do everything in my power to make her insanely happy for the rest of her life.

The ambulance stopped in front of me and the EMT's scurried out, the one on the passenger side handed me the chart, looking at the name I was relieved when I saw it was Bella. Finally! I read over their notes and sprung into action. Her vitals were weak, nobody was sure how long she was lying there on her floor passed out or what had happened to make her do such a thing. It was probably because of Jasper. Damnit, I knew I should have stayed at the club and waited for her. Jasper probably did a number on her, and then left. That son-of-a-bitch. I was going to kill him if I ever saw him again.

"Edward, oh thank God you're here. Please help her, please." Rose had jumped out of the ambulance, tears streaking down her face begging me to save her best friend.

"Don't worry Rose; I'll take care of her." I turned to the EMT's and told them where to go. Kate had decided to stay and help me instead of going to lunch. She secured a private room for Bella and had called my dad to assist. He's the Chief of Surgery here, but I know he'd do anything to help me and what I needed now was help saving the woman I love.

"Son, we're ready for her in here." My dad had come out of the room, dressed and ready for action as soon as we approached.

We got to work pumping her stomach, working hard to get the toxic mixture of pills and alcohol out of her stomach.

"I think we got it all Edward. She's going to be fine, you can breathe now son." Bella's vitals were going back up now; she really was going to be okay. The adrenaline rush had gone and the weight of the day fell heavy on my shoulders and I collapsed for the second time that afternoon, thankfully it was in a chair this time and not on the floor. "Why would she do this son? Do you have any idea what happened?" My father asked I was trying to get a hold of myself and calm my breathing down; my head was in between my knees using the calming techniques that I've learned throughout the years. Nothing seemed to be working though, as I thought about why Bella would do this I just got angrier and angrier.

"Jasper. Jasper made her do this dad."

"Oh." That's all he said, but really what else could he say? "She's got friends out in the waiting room waiting to hear something, so I'm going to go talk to them. Take your time in here with her. I'll be back." I nodded to my father and he left. I was alone with Bella in her room. She was unconscious and looked so frail and broken. If I had only stayed at the fucking club and waited for her this would never have happened. I scooted my chair closer to her and took her hand.

"Bella, I'm so sorry baby. I wanted to stay there and wait for you, but Tanya kicked me out. I knew that I should have stayed to make sure you were alright. I'm such an idiot. Please, Bella, please be okay. I'll do anything…" The sobs broke free at that moment, I don't know how long I sat there and cried but I felt a hand rubbing my back a little while later.

"There was nothing you could do Edward, don't blame yourself. If anyone is to blame it's me." My head snapped up and stared at Rose, her eyes were red and puffy from crying. "I should have gone home instead of staying with Emmett last night, and then this wouldn't have happened. I knew she was going to be in a fragile state after talking to Jasper but I had no idea that she'd do something like this." Her own tears started again and I got up, grabbing her and pulling her into my arms for comfort. Which one of us I was comforting I wasn't sure, I think it was for both of us at that point.

"OH MY GOD, IS SHE ALRIGHT! ROSE? Please tell me she's going to be alright." Alice was in the room looking frantic as she took in the sight before her. I couldn't imagine this would be easy on her.

"She's going to be fine, Alice. Her vitals are all good; she just needs to wake up." I had composed myself enough to relay the information to Alice, but looking back at Bella just broke me again. "I'm uh…going to let you two have a moment with Bella. I'll be back in a little while." Rose and Alice were busy hugging and whispering to each other, I wasn't even sure they heard me. Back in the waiting room it was packed full of Bella's friends and an older man with dark hair and a mustache, he was dressed in what looked like a police uniform. He was holding on tightly to a woman who has shoulder length brown hair, she was maybe 5'8", I couldn't see her face since it was buried in the man's shoulder, but the way her body was shaking I could tell she was crying. Everyone in the room was looking at the couple with sad expressions on their faces. It had been a long day, night had now fallen and Bella had yet to wake up.

"Edward, how is she? Your dad came in here and said she was going to be okay." The older couples heads snapped up as Emmett talked to me. They looked at me expectantly, waiting for my answer. Finally getting a good look at the woman I noticed how much she looked like Bella.

"Um, yeah, she's doing alright. I just wish she'd wake up. Rose and Alice are in there with her. You can all take turns going in to see her, but only two at a time." I looked at each person's face as I relayed the information. Everyone that knew Bella was here, Tanya and Demetri, Jacob and Paul, Emmett, Rose and Alice, the only person missing was Jasper. What did he not care enough about her now that he wasn't even going to bother coming to see if she was alright? She's been here for hours.

"Are..are you Bella's doctor?" The woman who looked like Bella asked me. I was rendered speechless at how much she looked like her and sounded like her. I simply nodded my reply. She quickly walked over to me and enveloped me into her arms. "Thank you." She whispered. I wasn't sure what to do so I just patted her back. "You saved her, thank you."

"No thanks needed Mrs….." I hedged.

"Oh, I've forgotten my manners. I apologize, my name is Renee Swan, and I'm Bella's mother. This is my husband Charlie."

"Nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Swan." Charlie walked over and shook my hand.

"Thank you for saving our little girl." He said to me, they both looked really shaken up.

"Um, were you here when my father, Dr. Cullen, came in here to give an update?" Not wanting to repeat what he's already told them, Charlie and Renee nodded their heads in the affirmative. "Okay, well not much has changed, she's still unconscious but her vitals are getting stronger, at this point we're just waiting for her to wake up and tell us what happened. From what we pumped from her stomach there were a couple of pills, which based on what Rose told us was found in the apartment it looks like she took some anti-anxiety pills. There was also a fair amount of alcohol in her system. She'll be just fine though Mr. and Mrs. Swan."

"Thank God." Renee breathed out in relief.

"EDWARD!" Rose came running in to the waiting room, all heads turned to her. "She's awake." I didn't bother to say anything to anyone, I just ran into Bella's room.

**BPOV**

My head hurt, badly and that incessant beeping wasn't helping. What the hell happened? I opened my eyes slowly, blinking heavily. When my eyes adjusted I saw Rose and Alice sitting in the chairs next to my bed, watching me.

"Oh my God, Bella! You're awake. I'm going to go get Edward." Edward? Oh, right, I'm at the hospital.

"Bella, what happened?" Alice asked, her hand in mine squeezing in reassurance. What did happen? I can't remember.

"I…I can't…oh no." It came to me then, I remember what happened. "I had a flashback and couldn't calm down or go back to sleep so I took an anti-anxiety pill, it still hadn't helped two hours later so I decided to have a drink to calm my nerves. One drink turned into half a bottle then I took another pill thinking enough time had passed. I guess I was wrong." I hung my head down, what had I done? I knew better than to mix alcohol and pills.

"Bella!" Edward came running into my room. He was at my side in an instant, hugging me like his life depended on it. "What were you thinking baby?"

"I guess I wasn't. I'm so sorry." Edward backed up, put my head in between his hands and kissed me. I kissed him back of course, because what girl wouldn't kiss this man back? You'd be insane not to. His tongue slipped into my mouth and mingled with mine, my head tilted to the right and the kiss grew deeper, more passionate. I still had to talk to him about things, but I didn't want this to stop, not ever.

"Ahem!" Someone had cleared their throat from the other side of the room. Edward released me and backed away and I blushed, I'm sure I looked like a tomato. "I take it you are more than just my daughter's doctor then son?" Shit, it's my dad. Not good.

"Uh." Edward rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. He looked at me then at my father then at me again. I could see in his eyes how he wanted to answer that question, but was looking at me for some help.

"Edward and I are dating dad." I blurted out. Rose, Alice and Edward all looked at me with their eyes practically popping out of their heads. It would have been funny if it hadn't been for the look on my dad's face at that moment.

"Is that right? What happened to that Jasper fella you were telling us about just a few days ago Bells?" I winced at the mention of Jasper. If I told my dad the truth I had no doubt that he'd go after him with his gun. Rose's face looked downright pissed, as did Edward's at his name, but Alice, well that was just confusing. She looked…I don't know…ashamed, about what I have no idea. It was probably just my imagination so I brushed it off in that moment and decided to answer my dad who was looking at me expectantly.

"Well, uh. We broke up dad." I somehow managed to get out without my voice breaking. Talking about Jasper wasn't something I felt like doing just then.

"Uh-huh." That was all he said as his eyes moved from me to Edward to our clasped hands.

"Mr. Swan sir, I just want you to know that Bella means everything to me and I will do everything in my power to not only protect her, but to make sure she is blissfully happy for as long as she'll have me." I could feel the tears welling in my eyes at Edwards words. My chest constricted as I thought about what he just said. He wants me, for as long as I'll have him.

"Well Edward I'm happy to hear that, but let me tell you one thing son, and then I'll have said my peace and be done with it." Edward nodded and I could see him tense up, he gulped as he waited for my father's next words. "If you ever hurt my little girl just remember that I am the Police Chief, which means I have a gun and can easily dispose of your body with no-one being the wiser. You understand me son?"

"Uh. Y-ye-yes sir. I hear you, loud and clear." I don't think I had ever seen Edward stutter or seem anything less than sure of himself. I tried not to laugh, my dad was trying to be intimidating with him and if I laughed right now I'd get a damn earful.

"Good. I'm going to go to the cafeteria and get myself a cup of coffee. I'll be back in a few minutes, no funny business you hear me?"

Edward and I both said, "Yes sir" and "Yes Dad" at the same time. Mine was more sarcastic and Edward just sounded terrified.

"I'll come with you Charlie. Alice, did you want to grab something?" Rose, bless her was trying to get us some time alone.

"Yeah, that sounds good. See you guys in a few." Alice leaned over and kissed my cheek and trailed behind my dad and Rose out the door. I let out a sigh of relief that we were finally alone. Edward turned and looked at me then.

"Tell me what happened. Is this because of Jasper, because so help me if he did or said something to cause you to want to hurt yourself I am going to string him up by his balls and beat…."

"No, it wasn't anything Jasper did or said. I…I had a flashback and it woke me up. When I couldn't go back to sleep I took something to help relax me."

"Anti-anxiety medication?" I nodded then continued.

"Yeah. Two hours later I was still on edge so I poured myself a drink, when that didn't work I poured some more until I had drunk almost half the bottle. I thought enough time had passed that I could take another pill, but I guess I was wrong. I'm such an idiot." Tears poured from my eyes, how could I be so stupid?

"Shh, Bella. It's alright. Everything is going to be fine." Edward whispered. He placed soft kisses all over my head and stroked my hair. "Do you want to talk about the flashback?" I shook my head, not ready to get into that with him just yet. My tears had subsided finally as Edward continued to sooth me. As much as I didn't want to, I pulled away from him. There were things we needed to talk about.

"I think there are some things we need to talk about." I said to the beautiful man sitting with me.

"It can wait. I actually have to go check on my other patients. I'll come see you in a while and we can talk then, okay?" Edward kissed my forehead and moved to get off the bed. "See you in a bit Bella. Try and get some sleep."

"Leaving already Edward?" My mom was walking in just as he was leaving, surprise that he was leaving clearly written all over her face.

"Yeah, I have to get back to work for now." He looked at me one last time and winked before he walked out my door.

"That man is really something Bella." I hadn't noticed it when she walked in, but in my mom's hand was a bag from my favorite restaurant, Zippy's, they have the best burgers in all of Seattle, at least I thought so anyway.

"Is that for me?" I asked; hope shining through in my voice. I knew my mom was fully aware of my obsession with that place so to bring that here and it not be for me would be absolute torture.

"Well that depends, Bella. Are you going to tell me what happened?" My mom sat on the other side of the room with the brown bag of greasy goodness. As much as I didn't want to rehash this story for the third time I told her what happened. She seemed relieved that I wasn't trying to kill myself. Like I would actually do something like that. If I didn't try after all the awfulness with Jamie why would I do it now? "Oh thank God. I thought…oh never mind what I thought. I'm just glad you're okay sweetie." She got up out of her seat without the bag, but with one look at my face she rushed to get it and bring it to me.

"Thanks mom. So any idea when I'm going to get out of here?" I tore open the grease stained bag, it was almost see through at this point, but it was going to be so damn good.

"I did talk to Dr. Cullen, senior that is, and he informed me that you should be able to go home soon. They want to keep you overnight for observation and…"

I had the burger almost in my mouth, but stopped when my mom cut herself off. "And…?"

"Theywanttodoapsychconsult." She rushed out.

"What? I didn't catch that."

My mom huffed annoyed that she had to repeat herself. "They want to do a psych consult tomorrow baby." I rolled my eyes, if that was all that was standing in the way of me and my nice comfy bed then I had nothing to worry about. I had been going to see my own therapist regularly and even had an appointment set up for this week. "You're not worried sweetheart?"

I had taken a huge bite out of delicious burger so I held up a finger as I chewed and swallowed. "Did you get me a drink?" She smiled and handed me the cup of iced tea. "Thanks." I took a long pull from the straw before I actually answered her question. "No, I'm not worried. I'm not suicidal and I have been seeing my therapist and have an appointment on Tuesday, so all should be fine."

Edward had come to see me when his shift ended that night after all my friends and family had left. I was so tired after my trying day that we ended up not talking; he just laid beside me, his arm holding me to him and hummed some song I didn't recognize until I fell asleep. When I woke the next morning he was no longer there and I had a nurse taking my blood pressure and had all the supplies needed to take a blood sample, not my favorite things and how many times in a twenty-four hour period do these people really need to stick you? Is it absolutely necessary for them to take a vial of blood every hour?

When the psychologist came in to talk to me that afternoon day I told her the story of what happened, she asked for the name of my regular therapist and said that as soon as she got confirmation on all that I told her I could be released as soon as the doctor saw fit. Friends and my parents came in and out of my room all day, but I didn't see Edward at all. I desperately needed to see him and talk to him. The day dragged on, more nurses came to take my vitals, I slept and talked to my friends. My mom and dad grilled me on what happened with Jasper and eventually what was going on with Edward. I gave them the abridged version. I told them that Jasper and I just weren't working out as a couple. His absence didn't go unnoticed by anyone.

Alice hadn't been in all day; I just figured she was getting her apartment ready. Rose told me that she called to check in on me, but the movers were apparently complete idiots and needed constant supervision. I could just see Alice sitting there in all her 5'4" glory bossing these guys around and yelling at them when they didn't put something in just the right place.

Edward sauntered in well after visiting hours, one of the perks of actually working here I supposed. He was dressing in his street clothes, no sign of his doctor's attire much to my girly parts dismay. I was relieved to see him finally though.

"How is my favorite patient?" He asked when he came into the room. He checked my chart and looked happy with whatever was on there.

"Charmer." I responded. I was just eager for him to be closer to me.

"Only to you Bella. But seriously, how are you?"

"I'm fine, glad to have some peace and quiet though. I love my friends and family but they can be exhausting." The rush of breath that came out of me reminded me of just how tired I was from my friends visit. Rose stayed with me most of the time, so did my mom. They talked for hours around me. I tried to contribute to their conversation but I fell asleep once or twice while they chatted away.

"Oh, did you want me to leave?" Edward asked, he clearly took what I said to mean that I didn't want him here. We couldn't have that though, now could we?

"No! Please stay." His features relaxed and so did I. I really wanted to talk to him.

"Okay. Is there anything you need Bella?" He was so sweet, looking after me. I knew then that he would be nothing like Jamie or Jasper for that matter. He cared for me like no one I've ever met.

"No, I just want to talk to you." I hesitated for a moment, thinking about how I wanted to ask for what I really wanted. Would he do it, he did last night. "Um…would you…uh"

"Anything Bella, what do you need?" He said. My hand was in his and he soothingly traced my knuckles with his thumb.

"Would you…maybe..lay down with me?"

"Uh"

"Please?" I whispered, looking into his beautiful green eyes.

"It's against the rules, but I can't deny you anything." He removed his shoes and I scooted over to one side to make room for him. I lifted the blanket and he lay down beside me. I turned to face him and wrapped my arm around his waist, my head finding a home on his chest and his arm wrapped around me. I was finally comfortable in this crappy bed. "Better?" He whispered.

"Much, thank you." I took a deep breath to steel myself for the conversation I knew we needed to have. "So about what I said to my dad."

"Yeah. I, uh..was hoping we could talk about that." He started playing with my hair, almost lulling me to sleep.

"I wanted to talk to you about things before all this, I guess what I said to my dad tells you where my head's at." Why was I so nervous? Just spit it out Bella. "Look, Edward, we've become close in the last few months and even when I was with Jasper my thoughts and heart were always with you. What I guess I'm trying to say is that I want to try…this…with you, if that's something you're interested in." I closed my eyes, waiting for his reply. I felt his finger under my chin, lifting my head to look at him, but I kept my eyes sealed shut, then the most wonderful thing happened. I felt his mouth on mine. It wasn't needy and passionate as our kisses usually were, the few that we'd shared already, but it was perfect none-the-less.

"Open your eyes and look at me pretty girl." I did as he asked and I swear to you his eyes were sparkling, his kissable mouth was in that delicious smirk that make appearances in my dreams, he looked happy. It reminded me of the day I first saw him. I thought for sure at the time that he was sent by the devil himself to torture me, he was cocky and gorgeous, every woman had their eye on him, but his eyes, well they stayed on me, even as he walked out with those skanks. I was up late that night thinking about him, going over every single detail, was he married, was that the first and last time I was ever going to see him? So many questions and as the weeks went by they were all answered. He had me from the moment I laid eyes on him, why had I waited so long to get to this point? The only obvious answer, besides being scared, was I was just plain stupid. A song was starting to form, coming to life as I lay here with him, I vowed to write it down as soon as I could, but now was not the time. I watched him, waiting for him to say something, anything. I had said what I needed to say, it was his turn now. "I've been waiting to hear you say that for a long time Bella. I would love nothing more than for you to be mine, to let me love you. I'm already in deep here and I'm not going to lie to you, I was planning ways to get you and Jasper apart from the beginning." He chuckled into my hair at his admission, I laughed a little with him, I could just imagine the different schemes he came up with.

"Were you now? Somehow that doesn't surprise me." I told him honestly. I gazed into his eyes and just got lost there, never wanting to find my way back, I felt like I was finally home.

"Oh yeah, there were some really despicable things I was willing to do to get you guys apart." Edward got a mischievous grin on his face; I sat there wondering what his wicked mind could come up with.

"And to think that you didn't have to do any of those things, he did something despicable all on his own."

"I'm so sorry he did that Bella. I never thought he'd be capable of doing something so…" I finished the sentence for him since he couldn't find the word, even though we'd both already said it.

"Despicable?"

"Yeah." He resumed playing with my hair. After a few minutes of just being in each other's arms he spoke again. "So…you want me?"

"Yeah…" I answered.

"I want you…." He whispered.

"Mmhmm…" I kissed his top lip.

"Which means….." What was he asking exactly?

"Which means….what?" I needed to get clarification on what he was asking before I said something I wanted to crawl into a hole for. I knew what I wanted out of this, but what did he want.

"Can I call you my girlfriend now?" Before I could answer, although I'm sure the grin that I was sporting showed my answer without the words, he shook his head and laughed to himself. "Geez, could I sound any more like a girl right now? 'You wanna be my girlfriend?' Shit."

"I think it's cute. And to answer your question…" I wanted him to look at me when I answered him but he was staring off at the door, finally after what seemed like ten minutes, but I'm sure was only ten seconds, he looked into my eyes. "I would love to be your girlfriend."

It was his turn to have a huge grin on his face; I of course found it absolutely adorable. "Really?" He asked, sounding genuinely surprised.

"Really." I told him enthusiastically. Then I kissed those damn perfect lips of his like I'd never kiss them again.

"Oh, sorry." Someone had entered the room. We broke apart at the sound of her voice, but didn't take our eyes of each other. "Dr. Cullen? Don't let your father catch you on a patient's bed hot stuff; you know it's against hospital policy." Lifting my head I noticed the woman who had come in. She was a nurse, short and thin; she was the same height and build as Alice, so tiny, with long light brown hair and vibrant green eyes. She looked to be our age, maybe slightly older. She had a smile on her face as she looked at the position Edward and I were in and I had to wonder how many times these nurses tried to get this hot shot doctor to settle down.

"Yeah, yeah Carmen. You go ahead and tell Carlisle, I'm sure he'll be ecstatic about this particular turn of events, especially since said patient is my girlfriend."

"Girlfriend? When did this happen? I've been telling you to settle down for months and you always said the right girl hasn't looked your wa….ait a minute. CLAIRE!" Edward groaned as Carmen called out for another woman, I assumed she was a nurse on this floor as well. Edward was hiding his face in his hands.

"What Carmen? Where's the fire?" The woman I assumed was Claire, who was in fact a nurse just as I thought, rushed in looking panicked.

"It seems our young Dr. Cullen here has suddenly found himself a girlfriend."

"NO WAY! Anyone we know?" Claire's eyes were as big as saucers.

Carmen gestured to over to the bed we were occupying and Claire followed her hand landing right on me and Edward lying cozily on the uncomfortable hospital bed.

Claire looked from us to Carmen, us to Carmen and again us to Carmen like she couldn't believe what she was hearing/seeing.

"Is that right? Edward, I wasn't aware that you made it a habit of strolling the halls here looking for girls to prey on." She was kidding, obviously by the snicker she was clearly holding onto and the wicked smile firmly in place on her mouth.

"Ha Ha Claire. Now if you two little hens are done can you leave us alone? I have some making out to do with my girlfriend." The ladies ooooohed as they left the room laughing.

"Well that was…just…weird." I said, trying to work through what just happened.

"Don't mind them, they like to gossip. News of the young Dr. Cullen having a sexy girlfriend will be all over the hospital in about half an hour." I groaned and hid my face in his chest. "Don't worry baby, I'll make sure no-one else bothers you."

I resolved to just let it go, who cares if everyone in this hospital knows that I'm Edward's girlfriend? If anything it would make sure the rest of these women kept their grimy paws off my man.

"Oh well. I do believe we have more pressing issues to attend to Dr. Cullen." I said as seriously as possible.

"Do we now? I thought we covered everything, was there something else you wanted to talk about?"

"No, nothing else to talk about, but I believe you told those nurses that we were going to make out, and I think you need to keep your word on that one. It'll make my recovery go a lot faster."

"Where was my head? You are correct, let's get to it." He rolled over on top of me and kissed me, slowly at first then the intensity grew. His hands were in my hair, caressing my face, exploring my body. One of the monitors started beeping really fast, but I ignored it. Edward's tongue was probing my mouth. "Your heart is beating so fast Bella." Huh? Could he feel it, or did he have super human hearing or something. I must have looked confused, but his eyes drifted over to one of the machines in the room. "The heart rate monitor, it's beeping really fast." A light kiss was placed on my lips and then he spoke again. "I think you like making out with me Bella." He smirked cockily then kissed my neck.

The snarky retort I had dissolved with the things his lips were doing to my neck. "Oh, that feels so good." I moaned.

"Mmmmm." He continued kissing my neck, as he traveled up to my ear I shivered, but I wasn't cold at all. "You smell fantastic." Edward took my earlobe into his mouth and sucked, then bit lightly on it. Oh that felt good too. "This is so much better now Bella. So _much_ better."

"What's better?" I'm not sure how I am even concentrating on what he's saying right now with what he's doing to my neck and behind my ear, oooh and now he's moved to my collarbone.

"Kissing you, freely. Not having someone else hanging over us. It's just what I always wanted." I started humming a tune, one that I realized would go perfectly with the new lyrics running through my head. "What are you singing baby?"

"Just something running through my head." I told him.

"Is that how it always works, writing songs, I mean?" I might have pouted a little because his lips were no longer on my person.

"Most of the time, yeah. Something in my life sparks a chord and lyrics just seem to flow through me."

"What's this one about?" His fingers traced every curve of my face; it was distracting in the best of ways.

"Um.." Did I tell the truth or make something up? Is it too soon to admit to writing songs about someone? I mean I know that he was already aware that _Hey Stephen_ is about him, but I never confirmed it.

"What? Please tell me." He pleaded. His left hand grazed my breast, his breath hot on my neck. His tongue languidly licked my neck from where it met my shoulder all the way up to my ear where he sucked on the lobe again. I was turning into putty.

"Oh God." He was very good at persuasion, too bad I couldn't remember the question. "Wh-what was the question?"

"I asked what the song you were just humming was about Bella. What's the matter is something distracting you?" He whispered cockily into my ear right before he took the lobe between his teeth and nibble.

"Uh-uh. It's just in the beginning phase right now." Edward's warm body was suddenly no longer above me, looking around I noticed he got off the bed, and was making his way to the chair next to me. "Where'd you go?"

"My ego is wounded Bella. I thought my mouth was more persuasive. Turns out I was wrong." His bottom lip jutted out, he was just too damn cute.

"Poor baby." Carlisle decided that now was a good time to come in and talk to me; I was relieved that it wasn't 5 minutes ago when Edward was lying on top of me, feeling me up, that would have been embarrassing. "Hi Dr. Cullen."

"Bella. How are you feeling?" He checked my chart, walking closer to the bed. I don't think he even noticed Edward sitting in the chair yet, but just as I thought it he looked over at him sitting in the chair. "Edward, shouldn't you be at home son?"

"Probably, but I wanted to keep Bella company." He gave me a coy wink and I may have blushed thinking about what we were just doing. What? You would too if you had a hot sexy doctor all over you.

"Okay, well visiting hours are over, don't stay too much longer. You know what a stickler Carmen is about that." Edward snickered, but Carlisle either didn't hear it or just decided to ignore it. He fixed his eyes back to me; I hope he has some good news for me. The psych consult had gone well; at least that's what the Dr. told me, so there was really no reason to keep me longer than absolutely necessary. "Bella, do you want to talk in private?" I looked from him to Edward, who was starting to get up. Did I want him to leave? He is a doctor, it's not like he can't get access to all this information anyway.

"No, I'd like Edward to stay, if that's okay Dr. Cullen."

"If that's what you want Bella, that'll be fine." Edward took a seat on the bed next to me and grabbed my hand. The movement of his thumb on my fingers sent tingles up and down my body. Having him touch me made me feel more alive than I have ever felt before. We looked at each other and smiled until Carlisle spoke again. "I spoke to Dr. Williamson about your psych evaluation and she is confident from your talk that you did not do this on purpose. She said she spoke with your therapist and they agree that although you have some things to work through they don't think you could ever cause yourself harm."

"Well _yeah!_ Dr. Cullen, I've been through some pretty shitty…er bad stuff a few years ago and even then that thought never even crossed my mind." I knew that Dr. Williamson said she thought I was fine, but to actually hear that she told Carlisle that relieved me to no end. "So when can I go home?"

"I'll sign your discharge papers and you can go home by eight am tomorrow. I suggest you get some rest until then. That means no more visitors tonight." Carlisle looked directly at Edward as he said the last part and it made me a little sad to think he couldn't stay with me. I felt so much more comfortable and relaxed with him in the bed with me. I wonder if it'll be like that at home too. Hmm, that is something I am going to have to test out. "Goodnight Bella. Edward." He gave Edward a look that clearly said not to stay much longer, to which Edward gave his dad a curt nod.

"I don't want you to leave." I whined.

"I don't want to either, but I do need to go home and get some sleep if I'm going to be back here at eight am." Edward had resumed his spot next to me on the bed, holding me tightly to him. I inhaled his musky scent and it instantly calmed me. Why did I ever think that I could stay away from him? I realized what he had just said, that he had to be back at work by the time I was supposed to be discharged, that made me sad, I wouldn't be able to see him again until Tuesday if he had to work tomorrow and I didn't like that idea at all. I was going to have to cancel my lesson with Jasper for tomorrow, it's not like he wasn't going to understand after everything that happened, in fact I wasn't sure if I wanted to see him at all at this point, but I never liked bailing on my responsibilities.

"I should let you go home, especially if you have to work tomorrow, you'll need your rest." My hand clenched around his shirt tightly, not wanting to let him go even though my words said otherwise.

"I don't have to work tomorrow Bella." He kissed my head and I looked up at him, confused. Did he not just say he needed to be back here at eight tomorrow? "I'm going to be here to pick you up. I already talked to Rose and since I had the day off already she agreed to let me take you home and take care of you until she got back from work. I am thinking about stealing you away and taking you to my place and never letting you go though."

"Hmm, that sounds nice. I'm glad you're going to be here. I was disappointed when I thought I wouldn't see you at all tomorrow." His arms tightened around me.

"I wouldn't allow that to happen even if I was working Bella. I can't seem to stay away from you."

"That's good." I responded, I kissed his shirt covered chest and he hummed in response.

"I should go." He said, sounding just as unhappy with the prospect of him leaving as I was.

"Nooooooo." I whined again, tightening my hold on him.

Edward gasped as my arm accidentally brushed up against his crotch when I tried to make myself more comfortable. "Sorry."

"Nothing to apologize for Bella. I really should go though, if I don't I'm going to want to do things to you that no-one in this hospital should ever see." His words ignited a fire within my body, I could feel every inch of me warming up and I knew that if he didn't go now I was going to let him do whatever he wanted, hospital staff be damned.

"Okay. I'll see you in the morning." I leaned up to kiss him before he left. He moaned as my tongue licked his bottom lip and my hand squeezed his toned ass. We broke away from each other panting, my heart monitor going crazy again.

"Sleep well Bella." Extricating himself from my iron grip he finally was able to get up off the bed. He grabbed his coat then stopped to kiss me one more time before he left me for the night. I slept well that night, happy thoughts of Edward and me finally being able to be together. Morning broke and I was so happy to not have many interruptions during the night so I could get a more restful sleep. I wondered if Edward had something to do with that. I complained about it the other night when he came to lull me to sleep. He laughed at my annoyance and told me that it was a necessary evil, but he'd see what he could do.

"Good morning beautiful." Edward was sitting there on the chair next to my bed, with a magazine in his hands.

"Morning. How long have you been here?" I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and sat up.

"Not long. I didn't want to wake you." He put the magazine down then looked at me with a mischievous smirk on his beautiful face. "Did you know you talk in your sleep?"

I could feel my face heating up in embarrassment. What the hell did I say, it must have been something truly embarrassing judging by the look on his face.

**EPOV**

I woke up really early, too excited to sleep knowing I was picking Bella up and taking her home from the hospital today. The fact that I would have most of the day with her to myself had me practically vibrating with excitement. I decided that seven am wasn't too early to get to the hospital so I left as soon as the clock read six forty.

"Hey hot shot, you're not on today, what are you doing here?" Sitting at the nurse's station was Carmen pouring over charts.

"I'm actually here to pick up Bella. She's getting released today." I leaned over the desk to tried to grab the snack that I knew was sitting there. My hand was just about to hit the mother lode, a Butterfinger (those were my favorite) when she swatted my hand.

"First of all, she's not being discharge for at least another hour and secondly how many times do I have to tell you to keep your hands off my Butterfinger? One of these days I'm just going to bite you. That'll teach ya!" She looked so mad, but I knew underneath she wasn't really mad at me. I laughed at her and right after she gave me a scowl she laughed too. "Don't think just because I'm laughing means you can lay a finger on my Butterfinger mister. You've been warned."

"Yes ma'am! I will keep my hands away from your candy bar Carmen. Scouts honor!"

"You were never a boy scout McSteamy." She replied.

"McSteamy? Have you been watching that show again? You know how mad you get when they do something wrong; I don't know why you even bother to watch it in the first place." A wadded up paper flew at my head, but my reflexes are so good I dodged it just in time, but it didn't miss my dad. Carmen looked petrified; meanwhile my dad was looking all around trying to figure out where the flying wad of paper came from. I finally couldn't contain it anymore and starting laughing, really hard. Tears were coming out of my eyes as my dad gave me a disapproving look.

"Edward, this is a hospital, you shouldn't go around throwing paper at people." My dad scolded, that stopped my laughter, but brought on Carmen's.

"It wasn't me! Carmen threw the paper at me, I ducked, but unfortunately it hit you instead." Carmen stopped laughing, giving me her best death stare.

"Oh, well, okay then. Carmen, have a good day." He said, with a smile and a wink. What the hell?

"Why do I get a lecture when you think it's me, but when Carmen does it she gets a 'have a good day'? What is that all about?" I was acting like a petulant child, but I didn't care.

"Easy, I like her better!" He laughed and Carmen smiled wide.

"I'm your son!"

"Yeah well." Then he walked off. "Oh, Bella's discharge papers are in, she should be ready to go in twenty minutes."

Shaking my head I walked into Bella's room. She was still asleep, so I sat down, picking up a magazine to look at while I waited.

"Edward." I looked over at her thinking she was awake, but she was still sound asleep. Hmm, guess she talks in her sleep. "Mmmm Edwaaaard. That feels soooo…" Hey now that got my attention. She was dreaming…about me….most likely doing dirty things to her. Her hand started moving under the sheets, I saw it traveling down to her…um…down there. "Don't stop. Oh GOD!" She was moaning and writhing around and I could feel my dick waking up, my pants were getting tighter by the second as I watched and listened to this display. She rolled over on her side then, mumbling something I couldn't quite hear, guess the show was over. A few minutes later my dick thankfully was standing down again and Bella's breathing changed, she was waking up.

"Good Morning Beautiful." I said softly, trying not to scare her.

"Morning. How long have you been here?" Bella rubbed her eyes and sat up.

"Not long. I didn't want to wake you." I set down the magazine and looked at her with an all knowing smirk. Should I tell her that she talks in her sleep? I thought about it for a second and decided that yes I should. "Did you know you talk in your sleep?" She turned beet red as I continued to smile at her.

Her face went into her hands as she turned even redder. "Oh GOD!" That woke my dick up. "What did I say? Was it totally embarrassing?"

"It wasn't _that_ bad Bella. Don't worry." I tried reassuring her, but I was having fun teasing her.

"Tell me what I said Edward." Her hands went to her lap and she looked me right in the eyes, determined to find out what she had said.

"Well…you uh…moaned a lot."

"OH GOD!" She screeched.

"Bella, please don't say that." I pleaded.

"What, why?" She asked, bewildered.

"Um, you said it in your dream and it's making me…uh." How did I finish that sentence? _Gee Bella, can you stop moaning and saying OH GOD like that because after watching you having a sex dream those words get me hard and I want to do very bad things to you._ Yeah, that would not go over well, girlfriend or not. Bella got the idea though, looking down at my crotch. She couldn't see my problem though since I was sitting down. "I saw my dad and he said you are all set to go, so whenever you're ready, your chariot awaits."

"Oh..okay…good. Are you sure you're okay taking me home? I don't want to impose, I'm sure you have things to do since it's your day off." Bella started getting up, gathering her things.

"You're not imposing and of course I want to take you home. I planned on staying the whole day so I could take care of my beautiful girlfriend." I couldn't wait to spend the entire day with her, waiting on her hand and foot and just being with her for an entire day, enjoying being together. She leaned down and kissed me softly, but I wasn't having any of that, so I pulled her into my lap, which earned me a squeal and kissed her thoroughly until we were both out of breath.

"Wow!" She blushed a little and traced my lips with her fingers. "Okay, let me up so I can go change and we can leave. I can't wait to get out of here."

I reluctantly let her off my lap and watched her go into the bathroom. I was taking my girl home, spending all day with her and taking care of her. It was about fucking time.

**Thanks to all my reviewers, I love you all, you inspire me to write more. Next chapter Bella finds out about Alice and Jasper, the shit is going to hit the fan, that's all I'm gonna say. Reviews get a little taste of the next chapter. Until next time…chao!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Happy New Year everyone. I hope you all had a lovely holiday and a fun, safe new year, I know I did. Sorry for taking so long to post this chapter, but we had a busy few weeks with Christmas and the New Year as well as my oldest child getting an ear infection. **

**Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and its characters, this is all for fun.**

**The shit is about to hit the fan people so brace yourselves, this chapter will start it off, plus there might be a tiny lemon in here for you, just for fun. Enjoy!**

**BPOV**

When we got back to my place from the hospital I told Edward to make himself comfortable and went to shower the hospital smell off of me. I showered quickly, scrubbing every inch of me and got out, brushing my hair and putting it up into a ponytail. Once I was dressed in my tank top and yoga pants I went out into the living room. It sounded like Edward was in the kitchen so I went in there to see what he was up to. What I saw had me practically in hysterics. He was covered in flour and egg shells were everywhere. My non-stick griddle was on the stove with burning butter sizzling away.

"What are you doing?" I managed to get out between my fit of laughter. He spun around with my apron on, his front absolutely white from the flour and a piece of egg shell hanging in his hair. "Oh my God, what did you do to yourself?" I asked him as I picked the piece of shell out of his beautifully disheveled bronze hair. I kissed his nose, since that was the only place that didn't have flour to let him know I wasn't upset. I could tell he felt bad and he was just trying to do something nice for me.

"Sorry Bella. I'll clean this all up. I was trying to make you a decent breakfast since you've been stuck eating hospital food, but it doesn't seem that I can make anything even the hospital would serve." His bottom lip jutted out again like it did in the hospital a couple of days ago, this time though I caught it in between my teeth and nibbled on it a little. I could feel a smile forming on his lips as he kissed me back. "Mmm, you taste like mint and Bella. Delicious. Maybe I should just have you for breakfast."

"That sounds like a nice idea for you, but what am I supposed to eat?" I purred into his ear.

"I think we can come up with something." Edward pulled me close, rubbing my back, and then his hands settled on my ass. "God you feel good Bella." He started kneading my ass cheeks and kissing my neck. How on earth can this feel this good?

"You do too." My stomach made its presence known at that moment; Edward loosened his hold on me and laughed.

"I guess I need to feed you." He looked around the kitchen and scratched his head. "Uh…Where do you want to go?"

We decided to go to the diner around the corner. I ordered waffles and he got the corned beef hash. We shared, it was very coupley.

After breakfast Edward and I went back to my place and we cleaned up the mess in the kitchen together. I took a nap on the couch with Edward as my pillow; I have to say that Edward is now my favorite kind of pillow. I didn't have any crazy dreams, erotic or otherwise as I slept, thank goodness. I can't imagine living it down if I had another sex dream about Edward, while he was right there to hear all of it.

"Hey you, nice nap?" His hand was running through my hair, it felt so good I almost moaned, but I managed to keep it in. I did close my eyes though.

"Mmmm." My brain couldn't come up with a better answer while he was doing that. The buzzer rang loud through the apartment, we both groaned at the intrusion. "Ugh, who could that be?"

"I'll get it. I ordered us some Chinese for dinner while you were asleep." I reluctantly got up from my comfortable position so he could get up, then the buzzer rang again, this time longer, like he was holding the button down, annoying delivery guy. Edward buzzed the guy in and went to wait by the door. A couple of minutes later there was a light knock on the door. I heard the locks disengage then the door open, I really needed to put some WD-40 on that door, it's so squeaky.

"What are you doing here?" Edward asked the person on the other side of the door. Okay, so it's obviously not the delivery guy.

"Wow didn't take you long, did it Eddie?" Jasper, just great.

"Fuck off Jas. She doesn't need your shit right now." Edward spat, I could tell from his tone that he was utterly pissed that Jasper was here. Figuring I better go get in between these two before it came to blows I got off the couch and went to the door. All I could see was Edward's back, he was blocking the door, not even letting Jasper see inside. When my hand touched his bicep he flinched not expecting me there, his body tense, fists tight and at his side. He relaxed a little when it registered that it was me touching him and turned his head to look at me. The look in his eyes made my breathe catch in my throat; I hadn't seen him look that mad since that guy at Eclipse tried to attack me. His eyes softened as he took in the look on my face. "I'll take care of this Bella." He whispered, his hand caressing my jaw.

"The hell you will! I came here to check and make sure _my friend_ was alright." Jasper's yelling was starting to attract attention from the neighbors.

"You couldn't have done that while she was at the hospital for two days asshole? Some friend you are."

"Guys! STOP!" I yelled, because they weren't going to hear me otherwise. They both shut up and Edward moved back a bit, giving me enough room to squeeze between them. "Edward, can you go in the kitchen and get everything set up for dinner? I'm going to talk to Jasper for just a minute."

"But he's…" He interrupted, clearly not okay with Jasper being allowed to talk to me, not that I blamed him. I didn't particularly want to talk to him either, but seeing as he just came here to make sure I was okay I thought I'd show him just how okay I was and then he could go.

"No, it's alright. I can take care of myself and you're right on the other side of the door if I need you." My words seemed to relax him and started to back up into the apartment that is before Jasper opened his mouth.

"This is ridiculous. I'm not going to do anything to her for Christ's sake. Of the two of us which one is more likely to hurt her, hmm? Who's the one that has done nothing but parade women around in front of her acting like some playboy douche bag?"

"Jasper, shut up! If you want to talk to me you better not antagonize him. And if I remember correctly, you did hurt me, by getting involved with another woman while we were dating." Jasper opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but thought better of it and hung his head, suddenly finding the floor or his shoes _very_ interesting.

"Yeah, okay." Edward looked smug, but I let it go, he was almost into the kitchen anyway.

"So what do you want Jasper?" My arms were crossed in front of my chest, making it clear that I wasn't happy about him being here.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Emmett called when you were on the way to the hospital. I wanted to come see you, but I…"

"But what Jas? You're supposed to be my friend, isn't that what you said you wanted? If we were actually friends you would have come to the hospital to make sure I was okay instead of waiting two days and coming here." I was so mad at him. He's the one that keeps spouting off about us being friends and how I need to let him back in, but what does he do when something bad happens to me and I need support? He doesn't even bother to call or come see me.

"I know, and I'm sorry Bella, but when Emmett told me what happened I felt responsible and I just couldn't bring myself to go see you lying in that bed. I'm sorry."

"Whatever Jasper. You can clearly see I'm fine and you don't need to feel responsible for what happened, I was just being stupid because I couldn't sleep. Nothing more."

"Why couldn't you sleep?" He asked, concern etched in his voice and features.

"I…you know what, never mind. It's none of your business." A tall man with a bag of what I could only assume was our dinner, judging by the smell, came up to the door. He looked at the door then to whatever was on the paper he was holding and then to Jasper and I in the doorway. "Hi, let me get you some money." The man nodded and smiled. Edward was almost to the door with the money when I turned around. He folded it in half and handed it to the guy, telling him to keep the change as he took the bag. "I'll be right in." I told him. He kissed my temple then disappeared again into the kitchen.

"So are you guys…?" Jasper trailed off his question. I knew what he was asking, but I didn't think that I needed to give him an answer.

"I have to go Jas."

"Yeah, sure. Well I'm glad you're okay Bella. I guess I'll talk to you later."

"Yep. Bye." I said, already having the door half closed. Once it was finally closed and he was gone I let out a whoosh of air.

"You okay baby?" I hadn't heard him, but suddenly Edward's arms were around me. His breathe was hot on my neck, causing goose bumps to erupt all over my body.

"Yeah. I just wish everyone didn't think all this happened because of him. And I guess I'm just tired of all this tension with him, I wish we could all just moved passed this, you know?" His arms tightened around me and his warm soft lips kissed my neck.

"I know, but what he did was just wrong and I feel very…protective of you, I hate that he hurt you, even if it did bring us together." His lips pressed against my hair and his grasp around me loosened. "Let's go eat, I'm starving."

Dinner was quiet, just the sounds of the forks hitting the plates and our chewing, but we couldn't take our eyes off each other. I was just happy to have him here with me, alone and all mine. I really have no idea why I waited so long. We did the dishes together then sat on the couch, cuddled together while we watched a movie on Pay-Per-View. I couldn't tell you what the movie was about because every inch of my body was acutely aware of the fact that Edward was pressed up against me. I could hear his heart beating through his shirt, steady but faster than normal. It made me smile thinking he was just as affected by our proximity as I was. The arm around me suddenly tightened, making my breathing pick up even more, if that were even possible.

I could feel his body shift under me, and then his mouth was at my ear. "Bella" he whispered.

"Hmm?"

Edward's fingers went to my chin, lifting my head up so I could see him. "I need…" He stopped, looking at me like I was kind of precious gift. The look on his face spoke volumes, I could tell he wanted to ask me something and wasn't sure if he should.

"What do you need Edward?" I probed.

"I..I want to kiss you right now, but I don't know if I should." It's what I wanted too, so I pulled his face towards mine and kissed him like I'd never kissed him before. He didn't respond for a second, but then his brain must have caught up with him and he started kissing me back. I sucked on his bottom lip, still holding onto his face. His hands mimicked mine as he slowly kissed me back. His tongue traced my top lip and my God I've never wanted to taste another person so bad in my entire life, so I immediately opened up to him, slipping my tongue into his mouth. His taste, you ask, well fuck me, it was unbelievable. He tasted like beer, kung pao chicken and him. I sucked in a breath through my nose as we continued to explore each other's mouths and his scent overtook me. He was all around me and I'd never been happier.

Wanting to be closer to him I shifted my body so that I was sitting in his lap. His hands moved to my hips to accommodate my current position. Once I was settled in his lap he moaned, I felt his very prominent erection between my thighs and couldn't help but grind on him, desperately looking for some friction.

"Fuck Bella." He breathed into my mouth.

"Mmmmm Edward." I replied, not wanting to waste time talking when we should be kissing. His hands moved to grab my ass, effectively pulling me forward into him.

"Alice, I think we need to give them some privacy." The sudden appearance of my best friends broke us out of our make out session, but I stayed where I was and Edward's hands were still cupping my ass.

"Hey guys." I said with a big smile on my face.

"What were you guys doing?" Rose asked, with a teasing tone.

"Oh you know, just playing a little tonsil hockey." I felt more than heard Edward laughing under me, but the sharp intake of breath is what made me look at him.

"I shouldn't do that with you on top of me." He whispered. Realizing what he meant I blushed. "I guess I better get going. I'm sure you girls have a lot to talk about." Reluctantly I moved off of his lap while he tried to subtly adjust himself. Rose and Alice both noticed and smirked at each other, but thankfully didn't say anything.

"Thank you for taking care of me today Edward."

"No problem baby. Anytime. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?" With a kiss to my temple he got off the couch and started gathering his things. Once his jacket and shoes were on he gave Rose a hug and said his goodbyes. "Sleep well love."

"I will. Night Edward." I closed the door behind me, holding onto to the blissful feelings I had when he was here before going back into the living room. When I got back in there Rose and Alice were sitting on the couch waiting for me.

"Sooooo…." Rose asked.

"So, what?"

"Did you have a good day?"

"Yes, a very good day. Well, except when Jasper came over to check on me and I had to get in the middle of him and Edward before a fight broke out. That wasn't so much fun." I noticed Alice's eyes widen at the mention of Jasper. "What's with the look Ali?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing. I just can't believe they almost got into a fight. How immature." I would have believed her if she hadn't been looking at the hem of her dress instead of making eye contact with either myself or Rose.

"Ali, what's going on?" I asked her, not willing to let go of whatever was bothering her.

"I." She paused, sucked in some air then blew it out after a minute. "I have something to tell you and I don't know how to say it."

"Ali, when have we ever kept things from each other? Just tell us what's going on and we'll figure it out, like we always do." I told her honestly. I took her hand in mine and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"Yeah, besides how bad can it possibly be Ali?" Rose added, taking her other hand in hers. We were like sisters and never kept anything from the other.

"Okay. You remember that guy that I saw at the airport and went after?" We both nodded, so she continued. "And you know how I told you that I've been talking to him?" Again we both nodded. "Well his name isn't Jay."

"Okaayyyy?" I responded, not sure why she was acting so weird just because Jay wasn't his real name.

"His name is Jasper."

"What? That's so weird…I didn't think that Jasper was a common name at all. Other than my Jasper I don't think I've ever met another one. But why call him Jay, does he just like it better than Jasper?"

"Bella…hold on. Alice what are you saying exactly?" Rose asked.

"The guy I have been talking to is named Jasper. He lives here; he's a psychiatrist with his own practice and has two best friends named Edward and Emmett." Alice said matter of factly. That's when it hit me, she's been talking to MY Jasper, and she's the woman he's been talking to, the one that was moving here.

"Shit." Rose muttered.

"HOW COULD YOU ALICE?" I screamed with fury and jumped up from my seat. "How long?" I needed to know how long she'd known she was talking to my Jasper so I could figure out what to do about my supposed best friend.

"How long what Bella?"

"How long have you known that your Jasper and my Jasper were one and the same Alice? HOW LONG?" I was shaking I was so mad. I couldn't believe what she was telling me, did Jasper know?

"Since our second conversation when he told me all about his life here in Seattle. I'm sorry, Bella. I'm so sorry." Alice buried her head in her hands and started crying.

"NO, you don't get to cry Alice. You had a relationship with my boyfriend and didn't even bother to tell me about it once you found out. This has been going on for months. WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS?" There was no sitting still; I was pacing like a crazed person at this point trying to wrap my head around this information.

Rose seemed to be the voice of reason at this point and was trying to calm us both down. It seemed to help Alice, but not me. I was still furious.

"I can't tell you how sorry I am about this Bella, really. I don't know why I didn't tell you, but I love him." She said in a shaky voice.

"YOU LOVE HIM? So that makes it all better in your world?"

"No of course not Bella, but it was clear to everyone that you weren't that into him, every time I talked to you it was all about Edward and I practically had to pry information out of you about how things were going with Jasper."

"Alice! That's not a reason to go after your best friend's boyfriend. I just…" Rose interjected before I had a chance.

"I know, I know and I can't tell you how sorry I am…." I couldn't take any more of her apologies; I could hardly stand to be in the same room with her at this point.

"STOP! Just stop! I don't want to hear anymore. We're done Alice. DONE!" I screamed and ran off into my room, slamming the door so hard the walls shook. I threw myself onto my bed face down and just cried. I vaguely heard the front door close before there was a knock at my door. I didn't bother saying anything knowing Rose would just come in anyway.

"Are you okay Bella? I can't believe she did that." Rose ran her hand up and down my back, occasionally moving some hair that had stuck to my cheek from the tears streaming down my face. Eventually I fell asleep and when I woke the next morning Rose was fast asleep next to me. Being as quiet as I could so I wouldn't wake Rose I got out of bed and went to the restroom. Thirty minutes later I was showered, dressed and already drinking the coffee that I had made. Rose wasn't up yet; it made me wonder how late she was up soothing me to sleep. I wanted to believe this was all some nightmare that Alice hadn't really gone after my boyfriend while I was with him, but I knew it was reality and I needed to deal with it. I already yelled at Alice, it was Jasper's turn today. I decided to call Edward. I needed to get this out and I was sure Rose had heard enough and was trying to work out her feelings on the issue.

"Bella? Are you okay?" Edward answered the phone on the second ring, he sounded groggy, and a lot sexy. I probably woke him up; it was only 7:30 after all.

"I'm sorry did I wake you?" I asked.

"It's fine. What's going on, are you hurt?" His voice was rising, I could tell by the tone he was panicking.

"Physically, no, I'm fine. Emotionally, I guess you could say I am hurt." He sighed on the other end of the line. I wasn't sure if it was relief that I was physically okay or a sigh of frustration because I was being so vague. I wasn't sure what to say to him now that I had him on the phone. I didn't know if Jasper knew that he was getting close to my best friend or if he thought she was just some random girl. Alice knew, obviously, but that didn't mean Jasper did.

"You're freaking me out a little here baby. What's going on? Talk to me."

I let out a breath, trying to psych myself into actually say the words to him. "After you left last night Alice told me that the guy she had been getting close to was…." I trailed off, not sure I could bring myself to say the rest. There was a lump in my throat keeping me from saying anything at that point.

"What Bella? Baby, please." I heard rustling coming from his end, probably sitting up in bed. Edward in bed, now there's something to concentrate on, much better than the current drama I have to focus on.

"The guy that she's been talking to, falling in love with as she put it, is Jasper. She knew Edward. She knew it was him all along and she went after him anyway." There I said it, too bad it didn't make me feel any better.

"Oh Bella. I'm so sorry. D-did Jasper know it was Alice the whole time?" The way he was so calm helped to keep me calm.

"I…I don't know Edward. I'm going over there in a little while to talk to him and find out. It's bad enough that he did this when I thought it was some random skank, but my best friend. She is…was…my best friend. I don't think I'll ever trust her again, or him for that matter. This friendship thing with him isn't going to work out if he knew."

"God Bella." He sighed, was this going to affect his friendship with Jasper now that we're together? "I don't think he knew Bella. That's not like Jasper."

"Yeah well did you think it was like him to cheat on his girlfriend?" I blurted out, the calm leaving me completely thinking about what they did. I just couldn't wrap my head around it.

"No." That was all he said for a while. We just sat on the phone, both of us quiet. A minute later he spoke again. "Do you want me to come with you to talk to him?"

"I think I should talk to him by myself, but thank you for the offer." We talked some more and decided that we'd go out to dinner later and maybe go see a movie. He said we couldn't consider it our official first date though because he wanted to do something really special for that but he knew I just wasn't feeling up to that yet with everything that's happened.

"Soon Bella. We'll have our first date soon. Call me after you talk to Jasper and let me know you're alright."

"I will. Thank you Edward, for being there for me. I…you make me feel safe and happy. I can't tell you how good that feels." The feelings were there already, deep and intense and I wasn't sure what to do with them. We've only been together a couple of days, but we'd been skirting around each other for months, flirting, light touches and a couple of intense and amazing kisses. Not ready to deal with all of that at this moment I got myself ready to see Jasper. I left Rose a note telling her where I'd be since she was still asleep and went to face Jasper.

**EPOV**

I love her, that's all there is to it. I _love_ Bella. I know, it's too soon, but I'd do anything for that girl, absolutely anything. I knew when I left last night that something bad was going to go down. I could sense it. As much as I wanted to stay and be there for Bella I knew she needed to be with her friends. Alice looked scared and tense as I passed her on my way out the door. I was fairly certain that the girl that Jas had gotten involved with was Bella's best friend, but nothing was positive until this morning when Bella called. She sounded so broken when she called me and I ached to be with her, to hold her and tell her everything was going to be alright.

I took a shower, made myself some breakfast and then paced, waiting for her to call me, to tell me she was okay. I knew Jasper didn't know he was talking to his girlfriend's best friend, when I mentioned the possibility he was floored at the idea. At this point I just wasn't sure that Bella was going to believe him, but I hoped that she gave him a chance to explain, it won't take away the pain of what he did regardless. The phone ringing broke me from my thoughts and I quickly ran to grab it. It was Bella.

"Hi." I breathed into the phone. I was so happy she was calling finally. It had been an excruciating couple of hours.

"Hi." She sighed in return. Bella sounded a bit relieved, not as tense and raging with fury as she was this morning.

"How'd it go?"

"Alright. He said he didn't know it was her, she never mentioned mine or Rose's name in conversation so he had no way of putting the pieces together. Alice told him when she saw him a couple of days ago. He seemed upset about it; I guess they aren't talking right now." She laughed lightly and I wondered if it was because of the two lovebirds not getting along at the moment, serves them right if you ask me.

"Well at least there's that I guess. What are you two going to do now?"

"I honestly don't know. The fact that he didn't know helps, but it still hurts. I still haven't gotten over the fact that he did this with someone, let alone my best friend. This was all on Alice, I don't know if we can be friends with them being together. I'm done with Alice; I just can't be her friend with what she did. I told her as much last night too. God, Edward I feel so betrayed." The sniffles on the other end told me she was crying and it killed me. I hated that her supposed best friend did this too her.

"It's going to be alright Bella. Don't cry baby, please." I begged.

"I'm…s-sorry." She sniffled so more but it sounded like the crying had at least almost stopped. "Why would she do this?"

"I don't know baby. Have you talked to her, other than the yelling I mean? Maybe it would help to find out her motives."

"Or maybe it'll just make me want to ring her neck." She countered.

"Or there's that." I laughed, it wasn't funny, that certainly wasn't something I was expecting to hear come out of her mouth.

We talked to a little while longer before she said she had to go. "I have to get ready for a hot date tonight." She told me.

"Hm, anyone I know?"

"Oh I don't know if you know him. He's insanely hot, funny; sweet, charming and you know the best part?"

"He's rich?" She laughed and so did I. It was a beautiful sound to hear.

"Well yeah, but when he sings it's like the voice of an angel."

"You sing like an angel." I'm sure if I were in front of her I'd see her blushing at the compliment, it's not just talk though, she sings and it's like heaven is shining right down on her.

"I really need to go so I can shower and look pretty for you. See you later Edward."

"See you soon baby." We hung up and noticed her had talked for nearly three hours and that's something for me. I hate talking on the phone, but with Bella everything is just so easy. I got ready for our night out and was out the door in no time at all. I decided to stop by the florist down the street and pick up some flowers for Bella. I didn't know what she liked so I just picked a variety of things that I thought worked well together.

"That'll be thirty two fifty please." I handed the man my credit card which he swiped through then wrapped the flowers in some clear and green cellophane paper. He then tied it together with this pretty red ribbon. "This for a special lady?" He asked. I smiled just thinking about Bella. "She must be awfully special to put that smile on your face."

"She is. There's no-one like her."

"That's how I feel about my Caroline. The sun and the moon rise and set for that woman. Can I give you a piece of advice?" I nodded, curious as to what this old man had to say. I'm sure it was going to wise and I'd do well to follow it. "She makes you happy, don't ever let her go. I have that same smile every time I even hear my wife's name."

"I'll do that, thank you…"

"Walt."

"Walt. Thank you very much. Have a nice evening." I walked out the door and got into my car, making sure to gently place the flowers on the passenger seat so not to ruin them. When I got to Bella's people were looking at me oddly, one glance in the mirror on the elevator door told me why. I was grinning like the Cheshire cat. I knocked at Bella's door and was greeted by Rose.

"Hey Edward, Bella's almost ready." Rose said, she sat on the couch, placed a bowl the size of Emmett's head on her lap and un-paused whatever she was watching on TV.

"How is she Rose?" I took a seat next to her so we could talk while I waited for Bella to appear. I didn't want to stand by the door with my hands in my pockets looking like an idiot.

"She's heartbroken. I've never seen her like this, not even after Jamie. Don't get me wrong that guy did a number on her, but she knew he was an asshole deep down. This thing with Alice." She shook her head before she spoke again. When I looked at her I saw unshed tears in her eyes. I rubbed her back I hoped in a soothing way; not knowing what else to do. I wasn't good with females crying. "It's messed her up pretty bad."

"Looks like it's messed you up too Rose."

"It has, I guess I never imagined Alice being capable of doing something like this, you know. It's like I don't even know her. Who does that to one of their best friends?"

"I don't know. It's a fucked up thing to do to someone you love." Rose cried on my shoulder but eventually calmed herself down. "I know Bella doesn't want to talk to Alice, but have you?"

"Yeah, I talked to her this morning while Bella was at Jasper's. She's a wreck. She says that she knew who he was after the second conversation but never said anything to anyone. She told me that she tried to stay away from him, but just couldn't, says she was drawn to him. I guess I understand that because of Em, but at least Bella and Em only had the one coffee when I came along. Bella's the one that pushed me to Emmett in the first place, I was so reluctant to do anything when it came to showing my interest, but Bella she saw right through it like she always does. I know if Alice had said something in the beginning then Bella would have told her to go for it. I mean we all know she's got it bad for you, has since the first time she laid eyes on you at Eclipse. She just didn't want to get hurt."

"I'll never hurt her." I told her and I meant it.

"Oh I know sweetie. Bella's just so guarded after everything with Jamie, but she's getting better. I just worry that all this stuff with Alice and Jasper is going to put her back at square one." Bella came out of her room at that moment, so I gave Rose a hug and got up to meet my date. She was breathtaking. She had on a pair of dark jeans, knee high black leather boots and a green sweater. Her hair was down, waves flowing down her back. Her make-up was minimal just the way I like it, just enough to accentuate her natural beauty.

"You look….amazing." I took another moment to enjoy the view before taking Bella's hand. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be." Bella grabbed her purse and coat, saying her goodbyes to Rose and we were out the door. "So where are we going?"

"Just a little place I know. " I smirked at her; the eye roll I got in return didn't escape my notice. The twenty minute drive to the restaurant consisted of Bella telling me how it was unfair that she didn't know where we were going and trying to convince me to tell her. She had some very compelling arguments, such as putting her hand on my knee and slowly moving it upwards. It didn't go further than mid thigh, but damn the girl had me panting with that little touch. "You're evil." I told her as I pulled into the parking spot just in front of Bella Tierra.

"You haven't seen anything yet." And with that she got out of the car before I had a chance to blink. She was going to be the death of me, I swear it.

"Two for Cullen." The hostess looked down, smiled and grabbed two menus and gestured for us to follow her. I had requested a nice quiet table overlooking the sound and that's exactly what we got. It wasn't all that busy much to my surprise, but you wouldn't hear me complaining.

"This place is really nice Edward. I thought we were doing something low key since you insist on this not being our first date."

"I come here a lot actually. The owner is a friend of mine and he has the best ravioli I've ever tasted."

"You're making me blush with all the compliments Edward." The sound of my friend's voice caught me off guard even though I knew he would be informed of our arrival.

"Tony! How are you old man?" I got off my chair to greet him with the usual half man hug pat on the back gesture.

"I'm well, who is this lovely lady?" He had taken Bella's hand in his and started bringing it to his lips. Smooth old man.

"This is Bella Swan. Bella, this is Tony, he owns this place and apparently never leaves. How is Marisa doing?" I made the appropriate introductions and hoped that with the mention of his wife he'd take his lips off my girl's hand.

"It's a pleasure my dear. What may I ask are you doing with the likes of him when you could be out with someone better? Like me for instance." Bella laughed and blushed a bit at his attention, but just as I thought she was just going to play the shy girl she gave it right back to him.

"The pleasure is all mine Tony and believe me if you weren't obviously married I dump Edward's sorry ass for you in a heartbeat."

"Hey now! My ass is not sorry. I have it on good authority that I have a fine ass." I interjected.

"And who may I ask fed you that line of bull?" Tony asked teasingly.

"That would be me, unfortunately." Bella spoke up in my defense. I don't recall her ever mentioning my ass before, but it was good to know she liked what she saw.

"Tsk, tsk my dear. You need to keep this boy on his toes; we can't go inflating his ego any more than it already is otherwise it'll need its own zip code." We all laughed and chatted a bit more before Tony said he needed to crack some skulls in the kitchen. He had sent over an excellent bottle of Cabernet from his own private reserve for Bella and I to enjoy and it didn't disappoint.

Dinner was amazing as usual and Bella and I got to know each other a bit more in between bites. One thing that I absolutely loved about Bella was the fact that there was never a moment between us that was uncomfortable, not even the times when we were silent was it awkward, it was really…refreshing.

We finished dinner and since the weather was nice and the movie theater was about a block away we decided to walk.

"What movie are we seeing?" Bella asked, she was holding my hand as we walked and I had to admit that I loved the feeling of the simple gesture.

"I thought you could choose." Her smile was so bright and wide that it made me smile in return. Bella stopped us in the middle of the sidewalk, wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me. We kept it strictly PG since we were on a busy street then continued walking the short distance to the theater. Once there she chose something we'd both enjoy, a comedy about some guy trying to make it to the birth of his baby, but had some guy with him that was making it difficult to get there at all. The previews I had seen of it looked pretty funny, so I was happy she chose it.

"What would you like Bella?" I asked her as I dragged her to the concession line.

"Popcorn of course and a diet soda." I ordered large popcorn, some Milk Duds, Bella's diet soda and a regular soda for me. I paid and we went to the theater our movie was playing in. Bella chose the row we would sit in and as soon as she sat down she lifted the arm rest between us, I was really happy about that. Any chance I had to be closer to her I was going to take it. I poured the milk duds into the popcorn and mixed it together. "What are you doing?" Bella asked.

"Um, mixing the milk duds with the popcorn." She scrunched her nose like that was the most disgusting thing she had ever heard, it made me laugh. "Try it, you'll like it." She gave me a dubious look like I was insane for even suggesting such a thing. "Trust me." I whispered into her ear. She took a piece of popcorn and a little candy that had now melted a bit from the heat of the popcorn. She held it up to inspect it and to be honest I wasn't sure if she was going to try it at all. "Bella, just try it, if you don't like it I'll go buy you your own popcorn." Throwing caution to the wind she popped it in her mouth and slowly began to chew. Her expression changed from apprehensiveness to one of pure pleasure as she tasted the sweet and salty goodness that was in her mouth.

"Oh my god." A little bit of chocolate was on her fingers and I was never one to be wasteful so I brought her fingers to my mouth and sucked the chocolate off. I was pretty sure I heard Bella moan as I did it and the sound went straight to my dick. "Oh God!" She moaned a little louder that time.

"So?" I asked once her fingers were clean.

"Hmm?" She asked, clearly dazed.

"What did you think?"

"I think that it was _very_ good." I wasn't sure if she was talking about the popcorn or my licking her fingers, but either way her response made me happy…and horny.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." Again I leaned into her and whispered in her ear. My tongue might have swiped the shell of her ear, only a little though, but it was enough to make her shiver. "Cold?" I asked even though I knew she wasn't. She just shook her head and resumed eating the popcorn/candy mix.

We fed each other during the movie and to be honest I couldn't tell you what the damn thing was about aside from what I had seen on the previews I had saw on TV. Bella and I were far too interested in feeding each other the popcorn and sucking the chocolate off the other's fingers. I was rock hard and in desperate need of some friction, thankfully Bella slid her hand down to my jean covered crotch and began rubbing. I had to try very hard to be quiet. With my lips attached to her mouth and her hand rubbing me I moved my hand to her hot center and began stroking her, I could feel how wet she was even through her jeans. "Jesus Bella." Our lips and hands worked together, not caring where we were or who could see us. We were in the back of the theater and away from prying eyes for the most part. If anyone decided to look behind them they would have just seen us making out.

I felt her hands at the front of my jeans, the button popped open then the zipper slid down and suddenly Bella's small hands were in my boxers latching onto my throbbing erection. "Oh God." I whisper/moaned as I claimed her mouth with mine once again. I tried to slip my hand down the front of her pants, but they were too tight, I needed to undo her pants to be able to fit my hand in there. Once that feat was accomplished my hand was able to find the Promised Land without any trouble. She trembled at my touch, as well as taking a sharp intake of breath.

"Holy Fuck Edward." She continued to stroke me up and down, her thumb making swipes at the head as her hand moved upward. I was about ready to explode but I wanted her to cum too so I sped up my movements and it didn't take long for her to tense up and find her release and I was right behind her.

The credits started rolling as soon as we caught our breathes and the lights were starting to come on so we righted our clothing, laughing as we did.

"That was the best movie I've ever seen." I exclaimed as we left the theater hand in hand.

"Did you even see any of it?" Bella asked, she moved herself closer to me, grasping my bicep with her free hand.

"No, but it was still the best movie I've ever been to."

"Mm, me too." I didn't want the evening to end, but it was getting late and I had to work in the morning so we decided to call it a night and I took Bella home.

**BPOV**

The night had been absolutely amazing. I hadn't intended on doing those things with Edward in the theater, much less on our very first date, but I couldn't stop myself, he was just so amazing. His lips were so soft and tender against mine and the light touches had me aching for more. I wasn't ready to let him go when he dropped me off at my door, but he had to work really early so I knew I had to.

"I don't want you to go." I whined, his arms were tight around me.

"I know, I don't want to leave either, but I have to. Can I call you tomorrow during one of my breaks?"

"Of course." I answered. I wrapped my arms around his neck, going up on my tip toes and kissed him. He responded immediately, pushing me against the wall next to my front door. My hands found their way to his gorgeous head of hair and pulled a little like I know he likes. The groan that escaped his mouth told me I was right. His left hand moved down my leg, hooking itself behind my knee and pulling my leg up around his hip as he ground his erection into my center.

A throat clearing had me blushing in embarrassment at being caught and I tried to extricate myself from Edward's erection grinding up against me, he wouldn't let me move any further from him though as his arms stayed tight around me.

"Hey B, Edward. Having a good time?" Tay asked, with a smirk planted firmly on her face.

"I am actually. What are you doing out here?" I responded. It was late and was surprised to see her in the hallway this late, especially since it was her night off.

"I was on my way out; Demetri is sick and needs some soup so I'm off to the store."

"Oh, I'm sorry he's sick. I think we might have a can or two of soup in my apartment. I can get it for you if you want." I offered.

"Oh, no that's alright. I need to get him some cold medicine too, but I appreciate it. You two continue on with what you were doing and have a nice night. Bella, we'll talk tomorrow."

I nodded at her, knowing exactly what she wanted to talk about tomorrow, then she left.

"I better go." Edward said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Okay." I might have pouted a little.

One more kiss on the lips and I knew it was time for him to go.

I closed the door to the apartment and made sure everything was locked up and headed off to my room. I was shocked to see Alice lying on my couch. What was she doing here? She must have heard me come in because she sat up rubbing her eyes. Once they were adjusted she looked at me with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Did you have a good time Bella?" She asked me with a hint of annoyance in her tone. I didn't appreciate it. At all! And there was no way she wasn't going to hear about it.

**A/N: So there you have it, I hope you enjoyed it. I know you were all expecting more of a fight once the news came out about Alice and Jasper and it kind of did, but Bella needed time. Obviously she's still pissed about the situation and Alice being Alice isn't going to let her think for very long, she needs to hash this out with her friend. What do you think Bella is going to do with Alice there? Is she going to talk to her or will she kick her out? Do you think they'll ever resolve their issue and be friends again? Would you be able to forgive a friend that did that to you? **

**Tell me your thoughts and review guys. Until next time. Oh and reviewers get a sneak peek at next chapter.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks for all who reviewed last chapter, love you guys! As my four year old would say, here's lotsa smoochies. She cracks me up. Some of you have voiced concern that Edward hasn't "freaked out" over Bella's past, mental state, drug overdose, etc. and at this point in the story I just want to say that they **_**just**_** got together. My Edward, isn't as tightly wound as some other writers make him out to be. He knows what happened with the overdose and just accepted it for what it was. Is he worried about the flashbacks and what happened to Bella in her past, of course he is, he'd be crazy not to be worried, but right now, two, three days into them being together he's just happy to actually have her for his own. **

**BPOV**

"What are you doing here Alice? I thought I was perfectly clear when I said we were done." I spat at her. She was ruining my good mood and damn it I just wanted to bask in the happiness of Edward and I's date. He really is just so amazing and I never thought someone could make me so happy.

"We need to talk about this Bella."

"NO! We don't. I have nothing else to say to you so GET OUT!" I stomped into my room and slammed the door, hard. I went into my bathroom and get ready for bed, washing my face, brushing my teeth and changing into my pajamas. When I came out Alice was sitting on my bed and it made my blood boil. "What about Get Out did you not understand?"

"Come on Bella, talk to me. Jasper isn't talking to me anymore, Rose is pissed at me and only let me in because I begged and cried. Jacob and Paul even told me to get lost." She started crying then but I couldn't find it in myself to care. I didn't move towards her, just stood there glaring at her. What did she want me to say, "oh Alice, everything is going to be fine, you're forgiven." HA, not gonna happen. She managed to stop her blabbering probably realizing that her crying fit wasn't going to get anywhere with me, wiped her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I'm so sorry Bella. I should never have kept on talking to him once I figured out who he was. That was…wrong of me."

"YA THINK Alice? Look, I don't know what you want me to say here. I can't forgive you for what you did; I just….I can't Alice. You need to go." I sighed the last part at a loss of what else to say. I was still mad, but I was also sad about losing one of my best friends, but no matter how sad I was I still couldn't just let go of what she did.

"I know Bella, but can you please just listen to what I have to say then I'll leave. Please!" Alice pleaded her voice cracking as she did. I couldn't talk, afraid of either crying or yelling at the top of my lungs at her which I was sure would wake everyone in the building up, so I ended up just nodding. I could listen to what she had to say, not that I owed it to her or anything, but I wanted to hear what made her do what she did.

"Let me start by saying that I am truly sorry for what I did, I can't even tell you how sorry I am. When I figured it out I felt sick, I even threw up, but Bella, I knew he was it for me. When I met him at the airport it was like there was this pull, and I know you know what I'm talking about, because you've said you've felt the same way towards Edward. It's not something I can just turn off, even though I tried. I stopped calling him and texting him, but then he initiated contact again and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't ignore him anymore. The week that I we had no contact was the worst week of my life Bella."

"So what, you expect me to give you brownie points because you stopped talking to him for a week? What the hell Alice?" I screamed, not caring at this point if I woke the whole damn building up.

"NO, of course not! I just want you to understand where I was coming from." She said calmly.

"What I understand is that my best friend went after my boyfriend and didn't see anything wrong with carrying on a relationship with him while we were together. THAT is what I understand."

"I know. I know, I'm a horrible person, but you have to know where I was coming from. I felt connected to him and I couldn't stop thinking about him. Anytime I talked to you I could tell that you just weren't that into him and it made me mad. You went on and on about Edward and how no matter what you felt for him you could never act on it because you were so afraid of getting hurt, but you never once talked about Jasper or how great he was. It was infuriating, here you have this amazing man who tries and tries to make you love him and all you can think about is his best friend. Don't get me wrong Bella, I understand the pull to Edward, I do, but don't you think if you felt that strongly about him you should have cut Jas loose?"

"Oh, okay, so you're pinning all this bullshit on me and my insecurities, that's just fucking fantastic Alice. Why don't you take a good long look in the mirror and tell me what you see? I may not have been that into Jasper but I told you, plenty of times that I wanted to make it work with him. Sure I was scared, but Jasper is a good guy and he made me feel wanted and beautiful and he was good for me. As much as I agonized over Edward and how I felt about him I tried my hardest to make it work with Jasper, not knowing that you two had been "talking" over the last couple of months behind my back. And you know what really kills me here Alice? What really does me in is that if you had just talked to me about this when it first happened then I would have realized then that Jasper wasn't the one for me and that maybe you two were better suited for each other. I would have broken things off with him and things would have been so much easier, but now, we have this fucked up situation where my _supposed_ best friend went behind my back and did God knows what with the guy I was with." I was crying now, not able to keep all the emotions I was feeling contained.

"Guys, it's late. I think you two need a break here. Mr. Morgan is banging on the walls because you two are so loud." I gave Rose a look basically telling her she was off her rocker if she thought I gave two shits about Mr. Morgan and his precious sleep. "Yeah, yeah, I know, but you two are talking in circles here. I think we all need some sleep and things will look better in the morning." Alice was crying on my desk chair, but at Rose's words she stopped. Realizing Rose was right I agreed to continue this conversation later. I just wanted to sleep, I was already pissed off that Alice had ruined my blissful state after my date with Edward, but I was hoping I could get back there if she'd just leave my room. "Ali, why don't you sleep on the couch and I'll make us all some breakfast in the morning and we can talk like rational adults. Okay?" Alice nodded, Rose turned her attention to me, already under the covers in my bed. "Okay?" I nodded too and switched off the light as they both left my room. I texted Tay to tell her to come over tomorrow morning for the big showdown and she replied almost immediately that she'd never miss a good whipping. That girl was seriously fucked in the head.

I fell asleep rather quickly much to my surprise, but my dreams were overrun with images of Alice and Edward doing things behind my back that would make Tanya cringe. Yeah, it was bad and I woke in a cold sweat and even angrier than I was last night. Great, I thought, this is not going to be a good day. I showered quickly and made my out to the living room. Rose was already in the kitchen and Tay had just let herself in. "Morning girls." She greeted us. I noticed Alice was nowhere in sight and I hoped she had taken the hint and just gone home. My hopes were squashed when she came out of the bathroom, steam billowing behind her. "Ally cat, how they hangin backstabber?" Tay yelled.

"Um, fine. Thanks. I'll…uh be back in a minute."

"So what the fuck is going on here? I came back from the store last night and heard yelling. To be honest at first I thought you and Eddie boy were going at it like you were in the hallway, but then I heard Alice's voice and figured you were either having some sort of angry threesome or the two of you were fighting." Tay popped a strawberry that Rose had just cut up in her mouth as she stared at me expectantly.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I asked, even though I knew full well what was wrong with her.

"What? Her hand was on another strawberry, but Rose slapped her hand away before she could take it.

"Tay, seriously, don't take another strawberry or you'll lose a finger." Rose scolded, I laughed, Rose was dangerous, God help you if she was wielding a knife.

"Alright, alright. I thought for sure getting some regular sausage stuffed in your pink taco would make you less, I don't know, tightly wound."

"You are so crass. Why am I friends with you again?" Rose asked, Tay was crass, but that's why we loved her.

"Because I'm hot! And hey, you've got quite the mouth yourself Rosie, don't act like what I says offends you." We all burst into laughter and then Alice walked into the kitchen.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing." "Tanya was being funny." "I'm fucking hungry, lets eat." We all answered at the same time, take a wild guess at who said what. Alice frowned, she was going to have to get used to being out of the loop.

Breakfast was delicious, but awkward to say the least. Everyone just sat there and eyed each other. I don't think any of us were sure what to say so we didn't say anything. It was weird, we were never like this. Once everything was cleaned up we all went and sat in the living room. The silence continued for a few minutes until Tay spoke up. "Alright, this is ridiculous. Alice, what do you have to say for yourself?" Alice sighed, but all eyes turned to her.

"Look, I already apologized numerous times to Bella last night and…."

"Whoa. You think just because you apologized that's going to make everything better? Who are you kidding Ally? What you did was just despicable. If I were B I would kick your ass into next Wednesday."

"NO, I don't think an apology is going to make it better, but what else can I do here? It's not like I can take it back." Alice wailed.

"Okay, Alice I think that maybe you and Bella need to talk this out rationally. You were both getting too worked up last night and from what I heard you weren't getting anywhere. How about we start with why you kept talking to Jasper after you figured out he was Bella's boyfriend." Rose interjected; she was always the voice of reason.

"Like I told Bella last night I knew I was in the wrong continuing to talk to him after I found out, I even stopped all contact with him for a week, but he was relentless in trying to get me to respond to him and finally I had had enough, I was miserable and crying all the time and it physically hurt not to speak to him so I gave in. Ever since I saw him that day at the airport I have felt this inexplicable pull towards him, like we're two magnets being drawn together.

"When Bella told me last night that if I had talked to her about it she would have broken things off with him, to be honest the thought never even occurred to me. I knew she had a thing for Edward, it was obvious the way she talked about him and I don't know, I was angry for Jas because here he was dating her and all she talked about was Edward. Bella, you said you were trying with Jas, but if you were really giving your all to the relationship like you said you were he wouldn't have felt the need to find comfort in someone else. Be thankful it was me and not some other girl."

"Be thankful it was you? What exactly should I be thankful for Alice? It's not like you fucking TOLD ME like a friend should, it might as well have been a stranger! You know what; your holier-than-thou bullshit is really pissing me off. I told you last night that I wanted to make it work with Jasper, and I did, I tried and I thought everything was going well. Edward and I were just friends and nothing else until Jas went and broke things off with me for another girl. I knew that I was in the wrong by being with him and having these feelings for some other guy, I KNOW THAT and I felt awful about it, but I was scared and Jas was safe."

"IT WASN'T JUST SOME OTHER GUY BELLA; IT WAS JASPER'S BEST FRIEND FOR CHRISTS SAKE! How do you think that made him feel? He knew about your feelings for Edward and he still tried to be with you because he liked you so much and wanted things to work out. You have no idea how many times he sat on the phone with me practically in tears because the girl he was with didn't love him as much as he did her." Alice's face was red with anger and I felt like I just slapped in the face by her words.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let me just interject here! I know for a fact that Jasper wasn't that invested in this thing with Bella, so don't be spouting off about how he loved her and shit Ali, because that's not the truth. They were both in this half heartedly. The fact of the matter is that you went after him knowing full well that he was with Bella." I looked at Rose like she had two heads, what the hell did she mean she knew for a fact that Jasper wasn't invested in what we had? Sensing my confusion she answered the unasked question swirling through my head. "Bella, Emmett said that Jasper told him that you two would always be friends, but he didn't see a long term future with you. He was well aware of how Edward felt about you and how you felt about him, so he knew it was only temporary between you guys. I'm sorry."

"When did he tell you this?" I asked, trying not to get mad because she hadn't said something sooner.

"Last night. We were on the phone having some hot phone sex before you two started fighting and he heard everything and then told me about what Jasper said."

"Oh my god Rose." I whined. I really didn't need to know what they were doing on the phone.

"What? He's gone and we both needed a release. There's nothing wrong with that, right Tay?"

"No way! Demetri and I do it all the time when we aren't with each other. It's hot!"

"Okay, I'll take your word for it." When I looked at Alice she seemed uncomfortable, I didn't want to know why. The thought of her and Jasper doing that made my blood boil. It would do me no good to actually hear that it happened. "So he wasn't as into our relationship as I originally thought he was, good to know."

"Alice, do you have anything else you'd like to say?" I asked, trying to bring us back on topic. I was pretty much done with this conversation though and wanted to retreat back to my room and write that song I had in my head back at the hospital.

"I just…I just wish that this never happened and I don't understand why Jas would tell me that he thought he loved you when he told Emmett that he didn't see you guys as long term. I just don't understand. And Bella, I really am so sorry that I didn't say anything to you before a couple of days ago. I should have told you, I know that, but I love him, so much I can hardly breathe when I'm not talking to him. We've only seen each other once since I've been here and now he's not talking to me and I feel like my heart is breaking."

"Well boo-fucking-hoo Alice! You keep saying you're sorry you didn't tell me, but sorry doesn't count for much when _you_ broke _my_ heart. Did it hurt when Jasper broke things off with me? Yes, it did, but it also made me examine what I was doing so I was grateful to him. I opened my eyes for the first time in a long time. But you, my best friend for how many years did this horrible thing and kept it going for two months without any regard of how I would feel. I thought I knew you but this just proves to me that I don't, so no, sorry doesn't cut it. I might be able to forgive you one day, but that day is not today." I got up, walking towards my bedroom, but stopped, not wanting to be rude to Rose or Tay. "I have to work on a song. I trust you two will see the home wrecker out?" Rose nodded her eyes big and mouth wide open. Tay hopped up off the chair and followed me.

"Bella! Please!" Alice sobbed as she watched my retreating form. I didn't wait for anything else to come out of her mouth; instead I stormed into my room and sat on my bed. Tanya was hot on my heels and shut the door, taking a seat next to me.

"It'll be alright B. I know it hurts now, but the pain will lessen with time. You'll forgive her, that's just who you are B." Tay rubbed my back, soothing me as I cried. She was right, I would forgive Alice eventually. The truth was that I never fully gave myself to my relationship with Jasper, like I told Edward; my heart was always with him, always. I suddenly felt the need to talk to Jasper and apologize for all the things I did wrong in our relationship.

"I need to talk to Jasper." I said mostly to myself. I was actually surprised when Tay answered me.

"No, what you need to do is work on that song that's been playing in your head then call that hot piece of man and have him ravage you. Oh and you might want to go to work since it is Tuesday and all."

"I suppose you're right. Thanks Tay, you always know the right things to say." I was grateful for her friendship now more than ever. She may be crass and hard to take sometimes, but she is an amazing friend.

"It's a gift, what can I say?" She snickered and kissed my temple. "Work on your song baby Bell, I'll talk to you later." Once the door was closed behind her I started working on the song. It was a long process, but I was happy with my progress when Rose knocked on my door and told me I needed to get ready for work at Eclipse. She didn't mention Alice for which I was thankful, I jumped in the shower and got myself ready. I did my hair, put on a bit of makeup, dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and a tank top and considered myself ready to go.

"Bella, oh my god, I'm so happy you're here. Are you okay? What the hell happened?" Angela ran over and hugged me like she hadn't seen me in ages when I walked into Eclipse.

"Hey Ang. I'm fine and I really don't want to get into what happened right now. I have so much to tell you, but I'm late as it is and this stuff isn't going to set up itself." She offered to help me in exchange for details on the last few days. I agreed, but kept out the messier bits.

"EDWARD CULLEN! You're dating Edward Cullen now? When did this happen?" She screamed, every head in the bar turned and looked at us, thankfully there weren't that many people here yet.

"Ang, could you keep it down? And yes, I'm dating him, he called me his girlfriend and it happened at the hospital. He's very sweet." I told her everything that happened since then and she gushed about how cute we were and she couldn't wait to see how he acted tonight. When I got to the part about Alice and her betrayal she was angry, but told me that sometimes love makes you crazy and you do things that you normally wouldn't do. I agreed, just look at me and Edward, but was that really an excuse to stab your best friend in the back?

"Welcome to Karaoke night at Eclipse. I hope you all are ready to have a great time this evening." I went on about how it all works and twenty minutes later we were well under way. I don't know if it was the rose colored glasses that I was currently donning because of Edward, but everyone seemed to be singing really well. Emmett sang "Suck my Kiss" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and it was damn funny. Rose did exactly that after he got off stage.

**EPOV**

Emmett had just finished singing some classic Red Hot Chili Peppers and I have to say he did a good job. Rose thought so too, if her running up to him and sucking his face was any indication. I had yet to go up, but was looking forward to singing the song I picked for Bella. She seemed a little down today and I didn't like it. When I left her last night she was so happy so I had to question what the hell happened between then and now to make her look so distraught. When Rose and Em came in they were all over each other, Em had been out doing his thing in New York for the past few days and just got in this morning so they no doubt had some time to themselves this afternoon.

"Edward, you're up." Bella said into the mic, looking directly at me. The crowd cheered as I walked up to the stage, a few girls tried to grab me, but I just walked right past them and straight to my Bella.

"Hey baby, you okay?" She gave me a sad little nod and even though she was certainly not alright I let it go, I had a song to sing for my girl. "This is for you baby!" I looked right at Bella when I said it so everyone could hear. Bella bit down on her bottom lip and I had to suppress the groan that wanted to come out. She has no idea what that does to me.

The music started and I could see the beaming smile on Bella's face, she knew what song it was, since she was the one working, but I didn't know if she knew all the words to it.

_I know you've suffered  
But I don't want you to hide  
It's cold and loveless  
I won't let you be denied  
Soothing  
I'll make you feel pure  
Trust me  
You can be sure  
__  
_I didn't bother looking at the crowd for the next part, it was all for my girl. I wanted more than anything for her to know that I was here for her no matter what.  
_  
I want to reconcile the violence in your heart  
I want to recognize your beauty's not just a mask  
I want to exorcise the demons from your past  
I want to satisfy the undisclosed desires in your heart  
You trick your lovers  
That you're wicked and divine  
You may be a sinner  
But your innocence is mine_

Her sly smile at that last part was the best part of my night. I was thrilled that I could make her smile when she was so obviously down. I know some bad shit went down with her in the past and as much as I wanted to erase it, all I could do was let her know that I would accept it and every part of her, she just needed to open up to me.__

Please me  
Show me how it's done  
Tease me  
You are the one  
I want to reconcile the violence in your heart  
I want to recognize your beauty's not just a mask  
I want to exorcise the demons from your past  
I want to satisfy the undisclosed desires in your heart  
Please me  
Show me how it's done  
Trust me  
You are the one  
I want to reconcile the violence in your heart  
I want to recognize your beauty's not just a mask  
I want to exorcise the demons from your past  
I want to satisfy the undisclosed desires in your heart

Everyone in the bar was on their feet clapping and whistling for me and I have to say that I didn't hate it, but none of it compared to having Bella run up to me and jump into my arms. She kissed every inch of my face saying "Thank you" over and over again until she reached my lips and gave me the best damn kiss of my life.

"I'm glad you liked it baby." I said once we had broken apart.

"Can we talk later?" She asked.

"Sure baby. Whenever you want." I kissed her forehead ready to let her go, okay maybe I wouldn't say I was ready to let her go, so she could get back to work.

"Tonight, at my place. Rose will be at Emmett's so we have the apartment to ourselves." She winked and smacked my ass as I was heading for the stairs.

"That sounds promising." Back at the table Rose and Emmett were all over each other. "Can you two get a room, you're making me nauseous."

"Fuck off Eddie!" Emmett managed to break away from Rose for all of two seconds to tell me off. Rose however didn't even bother, choosing to flip me the bird instead of speaking. These two were made for each other.

"Uh, hey. Can I talk to you guys for a second?" Jasper was suddenly standing in front of our table; looking past him I saw Bella and her eyes were wide as she noticed him. Jasper looked behind him but quickly looked back. The intrusion seemed to be the only thing that broke apart the two love birds. The three of us gave the others looks trying to gauge the others reaction. Personally I was still mad, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to talk to him; we've been friends for a long time.

"Sure, have a seat." Jasper sat down at the only available spot, next to me.

"I know you guys don't want me here after everything that went down, but I am so fucking miserable." I was about to say "good" but Rose gave me an angry glare as if she could read my mind, so I kept my mouth shut. He did look like shit, his eyes were bloodshot and puffy and his hair was a mess, almost like he just rolled out of bed and didn't bother brushing it, very unlike him. "I didn't know, about Alice. Edward you suggested that maybe Bella's best friend and the Alice I was getting close to were one and the same but I just couldn't believe it was possible, but then Alice told me that she was Bella's best friend and she knew after the second conversation we had that I was Bella's boyfriend and… FUCK! We got into this huge fight and I haven't talked to her since she left my apartment."

"Why did you tell Alice that you loved Bella?" Rose asked point blank. I hadn't heard this before and wondered if he had actually said that or if Alice was just trying to stir things up.

"What? No, I told her that I could have loved Bella, but things just didn't seem right, her head was somewhere else most of the time. I never said I actually loved her, it was far too soon for those kind of feelings anyway."

"It's not too soon if it's the right person Jas." We all looked up and saw Bella standing there fidgeting, she didn't look mad, more sad for him and I wondered what that was about.

"Bella, I know I've already said this a thousand times to you, but I'm so fucking sorry. I never should have kept on talking to Alice while we were together. Once I figured out I had feelings for her I should have ended us, it wasn't fair to you." Jasper looked like he was on the verge of crying, I had never seen him like this, ever. I had no idea this mess was essentially eating him alive. Rose, Emmett and I scooted over, Jasper followed and Bella sat down next to him. I poured him a glass of beer and he took it, giving me a barely audible "Thanks" then proceeded to down the entire glass in one gulp.

Bella was watching me over Jasper's head, I smiled at her. She was worried about Jasper, that much was clear by the look on her beautiful face. My phone, sitting in my pocket was vibrating, indicating I either had a call or a text message, I pulled it out and there was a message from Bella. It said. "We need to tell him about what we did while he and I were together." I responded immediately with "Now's not the time." Her response came a second later. "Agreed, but we do need to tell him. He isn't the only one who did something wrong here.". I typed out a quick response and sent it to her. By now Emmett and Rose had noticed our conversation. "I know baby. We'll tell him. You mean everything to me." The smile on Bella's face as she read my text could have lit an entire city block, she was absolutely beautiful.

"Jasper, I know that you're sorry for what happened, but I wanted to come over here to say that…I've forgiven you." Every one of our heads snapped up and stared at Bella, certain we were hearing things. "We've all done things that we aren't proud of and as much as it hurt that you were talking to Alice for two months behind my back and forming a relationship with her I don't honestly believe that you knew it was her. I wasn't the best of girlfriends, I know that and I'm sorry too." She gave him a hug, leaned over and kissed me then hopped up out of the seat. The current song was almost over and she had to get back to work. "Just talk to Alice, I know she's miserable without you too." Then she was gone, back up to her place on the stage to introduce the next singer. She's the best person I know, hands down.

"Holy shit. She just forgave me. That girl is fucking amazing." Jasper shook his head in disbelief at what just happened. To be honest I didn't think she was going to forgive him that quickly, but thinking more about it, she's right, we kissed while they were together and that's pretty bad.

"That's Bella. She never holds a grudge." Rose stated.

"I'm gonna go. Thanks for talking to me you guys. I'll see ya."

"See ya." We all said as he got up to go.

"Well that was strange. I didn't think Jasper was going to come here and then to have Bella just up and forgive him, it's just so fucking surreal. That girl is really something else Edward." Emmett drank the rest of the beer in his mug and poured himself some more. I could tell that he was just as impressed by Bella and her big heart as I was. As Jasper so eloquently put it, "the girl is fucking amazing."

"I know. I'm one lucky bastard." I mused.

**BPOV**

Seeing Jasper here caused some conflicting emotions. I was hoping to talk to him about things, but I was also a bit angry that he was here so soon after everything that had taken place. What shocked me more than anything was that Edward and Rosalie actually let him sit with them and talked like adults. I decided to act like a grown up too and sit down with everyone while the latest singer butchered the _Beatles_. Much to the surprise of everyone, judging by their facial expressions, I let Jasper off the hook. I told him I forgave him and advised him to talk to Alice, he looked like hell and I just figured it had to do with him and Alice not talking. The song ended and it was back to work, I only had a couple of requests left, which meant that soon it was going to be my turn again. I had to think of something great to sing. I saw Jasper leave and when he was almost at the door he turned and gave me a small wave, I returned the gesture and introduced the next singer.

I decided to lighten up the mood in this place and sung "Alcohol" by Bare Naked Ladies, the whole crowd was up off their seats dancing and singing along with me. It was funny as hell to see all these drunken people getting into the song. It did exactly what I wanted it to after the last few singers did these somber songs, the mood was just depressing in this place. When I got back to my post there was a huge stack of requests and it made me smile despite the crazy things that have happened in the last few days. Was it really only six days ago that Jasper and I broke things off? Yes it was, to top that off it was only three days ago that Edward and I decided to give us a try, making the day one of my happiest, but all that was smothered the very next day when Alice broke my heart. It doesn't seem possible that all this has happened in that short amount of time, but it has.

Edward walked me to my car, helping me put all the equipment in the trunk, gave me a searing, sensual kiss and told me he'd meet me at my place in half an hour.

Back at the apartment Tay was waiting for me by the door, anxious to hear how things went tonight. I told her about Jasper coming and me forgiving him and she said she was proud of me. "I know that forgiving Alice is going to take a lot longer, but you're such a good person B, you could never stay mad at her anyway. Don't give me that look; you and I both know it's true." She had said. The knock on the door was her signal to leave, when she opened the door there stood Edward looking just as delicious as ever. "Be good to her lover boy or I'll rip your balls off." Tay had put the fear in Edward's eyes as she left and I had to laugh at the look on his face. Who knew a grown man would be scared shitless by a girl.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but that woman terrifies the shit outta me." I grabbed him, pulling him into me.

"You poor baby. Did the mean scary 5'10, one hundred fifteen pound woman scare you?" I was making fun of him, Tay couldn't hurt a fly, in fact she screams like, well a little girl, anytime she sees even the smallest of spiders.

"Don't make fun, she's scary. I think my balls just retreated back into my body." I laughed, I couldn't help it.

"Oh pshh, she's harmless. I'll protect you, don't worry baby." I nuzzled up to his back, taking a breath and smelling his wonderful musky smell. "You smell good." He hmmed but didn't say anything further, he did however expose more of his neck so I could get better access and damn it I took it. My lips pressed into his pulse point and in return his grip on my hips tightened, it hurt, but in a good way. My nose ran up his neck, my tongue following along the path, occasionally sucking at certain spots. I trailed a path from his neck to his jaw, then to his chin. I stopped there, wanting nothing more than his kisses. We kissed in the doorway just for a few minutes, not deepening it any further than slight touches of our tongues.

"Didn't you want to talk about something love?" He asked when we broke apart.

"Did I? I can't remember." There were things that needed to be talked about, mostly the situation with Jasper, but right now I was just enjoying being in our little bubble.

"I am fairly certain it had something to do with telling Jasper about us, but I could be wrong." My bottom lip jutted out, much like his did at the hospital a few days ago, I'm sure he pulled it off better though. "Hey, don't pout, that's entirely unfair."

"I know, but I wanted to keep kissing you and ignore our problems for right now." I was whining like a petulant child, hoping it would work in delaying him.

"If we get this discussion over with now then we can have the whole rest of the evening to ourselves without this hanging over our heads." Why did he have to make sense? It's just not fair.

"When you put it that way…" I hugged him tighter to me trying to delay the inevitable, but I gave up quickly realizing that it was better to get it over with so we could get back to our bubble. "Fine, if we must." I was whining again, Edward was going to start thinking he was dating a toddler if I didn't cut it out.

"Let's go sit down. How about some wine?" In the kitchen I got out a bottle of red and two glasses. Edward was already sitting on the sofa when I walked into the living room. He took the bottle from me as I sat next to him and deftly opened the bottle before pouring us each a glass. "So about telling Jasper…I think I should do it..alone."

"What? No! I think I should be the one to tell him. I was dating him after all. If you tell him then he might hit you." I think my voice went two octaves higher than what a dolphin could hear at that point, but there was no way I was letting him tell Jasper about us without me there, in fact if I had my way I'd be the one telling him without Edward around at all.

"And I'm his best friend, and so what if he hits me, I could just hit him back for what he did to you. Besides Jasper hits like a girl."

"Okay, let's compromise." His quirked eyebrow was indication enough for me to continue with my proposed plan. "We go and tell him together. I can't let you go and do this alone; it's just as much my responsibility as it is yours." More mine, but no way I was saying that.

"I think I can handle that." He took a long draw of his wine, and then placed the glass back on the table. "That went better than I expected."

"What did?"

"Our first fight."

I laughed, almost spitting out the sip of wine I had just taken. Fight, he thought that was a fight? "That wasn't a fight babe."

"It wasn't? I thought…ah damn. I was hoping to get the first fight out of the way so we could have some of that make-up sex I've heard so much about." This time I did spit out the wine. I think from now on I just won't drink anything if he's talking. Good plan!

"We haven't even had sex yet, how can there be make-up sex?"

"I don't know. I thought maybe you'd find me irresistible if I conceded to something you wanted, well admitting I'm wrong is supposed to be a turn on too."

"Who the hell have you been talking to?"

"Emmett."

"Figures. I said with a huff. Stupid Emmett putting these ridiculous notions in my man's head. I was going to have to have a talk with Rosalie. "When do we tell him?"

"Well, my next day off is Saturday, is that okay?"

"That's fine." Relieved I took another sip of wine, watching him out of the corner of my eye, he'll probably say something funny then wine will go flying, so I needed to watch him. "Can we get back to the kissing now?"

"Impatient are we?" Unable to decide whether his cocky smirk was sexy or irritating I jumped him, literally. Somehow I managed to find myself in a very familiar position, straddling his lap. "You're killing me Bella."

"Good." It was just a whisper before my mouth resumed its attack on him. "Someone has to wipe that cocky smirk of your beautiful face." Kissing along his neck again I could feel myself getting wetter between my legs, I started grinding on him needing some sort of friction to get some relief.

"Holy….what are you doing to me woman?" The feel of his erection growing harder and harder under me made me grind harder, faster, I could feel the stirring of my orgasm starting in my abdomen. "Oh God, so good baby. Don't stop."

"Never." I whispered, then immediately went back to kissing him. His tongue probed my mouth and I could taste the sweetness of the wine on his tongue as he caressed mine with soft circular motions. It was divine. Our grinding grew more intense, our breathing becoming more and more erratic as we both drew closer to the edge. Edward thrust himself into me and the second time his cock hit my clit I came, loudly. After a few more thrusts, while I rode out my orgasm, Edward came too in a loud almost roar, I've never heard a sexier sound in my life, I was on the verge of begging him to be inside me, but I held back.

"Fuck Bella. That was…there are no words for what that was." I agreed, there were no words, so instead of saying anything all that I could reasonably get out was an mmmmm. I sounded like a moron, Edward and his cock literally thrust my ability to talk coherently right out of me. I started laughing, giggling really, the man was talented and he hasn't even been inside of me yet my brain will no doubt be a puddle of goo when we finally do have sex. "What are you laughing at beautiful girl?"

The question just made me break into a full on laugh. I was shaking and gasping for breath, Edward groaned and it made me laugh harder, which I didn't think was possible, and then he started tickling me.

"Stop laughing."

"St…op tick…..hahahahaha…ling me." Before I could blink he had my flipped over so I was on my back and he was hovering on top of me. Thankfully his fingers had stopped their torture on me so I was able to at least attempt to settle myself down.

"Now, what was so damn funny?"

"I don't know. I just started giggling because I didn't know what to say after you said there were no words for what we just did except for mmm, it was like your penis turned me into an idiot. When you asked what I was laughing at I couldn't hold it in anymore, not that I was doing a very good job of it in the first place, but you know what I mean. Don't you ever just get the giggles?"

"Being the manly guy that I am I am going to have to say no, I have never gotten the giggles. By the way, I think you're adorable and I like turning you incoherent." He leaned down, our noses touching, he leaned in a little more until our lips were pressed against each other. His eyes stayed open as he placed one, two, three chaste kisses on my lips. "Mmm, you taste so good."

"You do too." I kissed him again, just to get another taste.

"As much as I don't want to bring us down, I'm dying to know what happened last night to put you in such a bad mood tonight."

"UGH! Do we _have_ to talk about that right now?" I was in such a good mood after such a crappy day, well past 24 hours if you think about when the crappiness truly started.

"Please?" He gave me that damn pout then added a little eyelash batting at me. Damn him and his sexy persuasion.

"Fine! Just so you know, that's not fair."

"What's not fair baby?" Oh he knew what he was doing; he was just playing dumb now.

"You know perfectly well what you were doing. I'll let it go for now, but you can't pull out the sexiness anytime you want to get your way. It just isn't right." Edward's face lit up like a god damned Christmas tree, smug bastard. "Stop with the smiling."

"I like it when I win, what can I say?" With a little wink he composed his face and I told him all about what happened with Alice last night and this morning. "What the fuck? That woman has a lot of nerve."

"I know. It's like I don't even know her anymore. I called her a home wrecker when I was walking into my room." Despite everything that happened I felt awful for what I said to her, her sobs that followed me were etched in my memory. Big picture, she was right, I didn't give everything I had to that relationship, doesn't mean I forgive her, far from it, but I could at least look at how I was partly at fault for my relationship's demise.

"Baby, don't cry, okay? I know this hurts, but we will get through it. Tanya's right though, you will forgive her eventually just like you did with Jasper tonight. You, Bella Swan are _the_ most amazing person I have ever met." He kissed me, hard and passionately, which only solidified his words. Eventually he had to go home, having to work early in the morning; I went straight to bed, feeling the drain from the past 24 hours finally catching up with me.

**I'm going to go hide now. I'm not sure if it was the showdown you were all expecting, but it's what was planned. Just a little further into the characters, Bella is the type of person that doesn't hold a grudge, especially not with one of her best friends, that's just now how she is. That was reiterated numerous times by both Tanya and Rose throughout this chapter. How long she holds onto this anger towards Alice we'll just have to wait and see. **

**I am really happy that a lot of new readers have found this story and decided to put it and me on alert, I would love it if you could let me know where you found the story. Don't forget to review guys. Tell me what you're thinking. I love hearing your thoughts and ideas for what could make this story better. I'm always open to suggestions on how to make it better for you guys.**


	14. Chapter 14

Sorry for the delay on this chapter, everyone here at my house has had the stomach flu and my youngest daughter, who is only 18 months old had a febrile seizure a few days ago and 911 was called. It was scary, really scary, but she's alright now.

Thank you to all the readers who reviewed last chapter, I love that you guys took the time out to do it and let me know what you thought. Some of your suggestions have actually helped me add a little more to the story. To all the new readers, I'm glad to have you.

This chapter has a lot of mature situations including abuse so if you're under 18 stop reading.

As always Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and its characters, but this story is mine and is only meant to have a little fun with her characters.

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**EPOV**

The dark quiet of my apartment was suffocating me. I missed Bella and I just left her a mere two hours ago. Sleep wasn't going to come; I had resigned myself to that. Glancing at the clock on my nightstand I noticed I only had two hours before I had to be up and get ready for work so I decided to just get up and go for a run. Throwing on my running shorts, shoes, t-shirt and hoodie I did my pre-run stretches before grabbing my phone and keys and headed out into the cold Seattle morning. I ran 5 miles, letting my mind take over. Something was bugging me and I couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. I was happy, I finally had Bella for my own, sure I was concerned over all of her baggage, but she was a well rounded person, I've gotten to know her in the past few months and other than the accidental overdose and nightmares, or flashbacks as she called them, she was for all intents and purposes completely normal. Jasper did tell me that they never slept together because she wasn't ready, I was happy about that at the time but now that I'm thinking about it, it made me wonder what her motives were for holding off on the physical stuff with Jasper and would she hold out on me too. Not that it's all about sex for me, but I wanted every piece of her, I was desperate for her to open up to me and show me all the things that made her tick. I was looking forward to learning everything I could about her, including all the ways I could make her body sing. I resolved myself to talk to her, get her to talk to me about her past and help her work through it the best I could.

Back at my apartment I took a nice hot shower and got ready to head over to the office. I wasn't due at the hospital today but I did have a full day of patients to keep me busy. I was so busy during the first half of the day with sick patients coming in and out of my office that I hadn't checked the time, I was currently sitting at my desk updating my notes in the charts since it was quiet for the time being when Jane, my receptionist rang in.

"Hey Heidi."

"Dr. Cullen, you have a visitor."

"I thought my schedule was clear for the next two hours Heidi. I really need to update these charts, have whoever it is make an appointment." I said in a clipped tone. The time when the office closed down for a couple of hours was the only time I could catch up on paperwork.

"I think you'll want to see this visitor Dr. Cullen. Trust me." Heidi's tone was chipper, and while that wasn't a rare occurrence she didn't like being interrupted during lunch either. Heidi is a student at UW; she takes night classes and works here during the day to pay the bills. Heidi has an adorable little boy named Alec who is five, her husband is overseas with the Marines and his pay doesn't quite cover all of their household bills. With a five year old at home, working full time and going to school she rarely has time for her school work. I was happy to let her have the lunch time to work on it.

With a sigh I said, "Alright, send them in." A minute later there was a light knock on my office door. "Come in." When I looked up to greet my visitor I gasped at the vision before me. "What are you doing here?" I asked, my voice full of surprise, at least I hoped that's how it came off.

"I missed you and thought maybe you'd want to have lunch with me." Bella asked, walking further into my office, then taking a seat across from me. She was wearing a form fitting low v-neck shirt and a mid thigh flowy skirt. I'm not sure flowy is even a word, but hey, it aptly described her skirt that had ridden up as she crossed her legs and I was equally cursing and thanking the maker of said skirt because of the view I was getting of her long, lean, beautiful legs. "Edward? Earth to Edward." Her hand was now waving in front of my face. I guess I got too caught up in ogling her legs for a second there.

"Huh? Oh, lunch. YES! Lunch sounds perfect. Where did you want to go love?"

"I was hoping you wouldn't mind staying in, I brought food and thought we could do a make-shift picnic in here. If that's alright with you?" She seemed shy all of a sudden.

"Actually I have a better idea. Let me take that stuff and follow me, I know the perfect spot." It was the perfect spot too, just behind the building there was a small secluded grassy area, it was hidden behind a lot of tall trees, you wouldn't even know it was there if you weren't looking. "I found this place about a year ago after I lost my first patient. I was a mess afterwards and needed some air, I went for a walk and I stumbled onto this place. I come here now whenever I need to think and clear my head."

"How often do you come here now?"

"Well for the past few months I've been coming here a lot to think about things." I answered, purposely being vague.

"What did you think about?" She asked.

"You." I said matter of factly.

"Me?" It sounded like she squeaked, it made me laugh. "Don't laugh at me. What about me were you thinking Dr. Cullen?" Bella trailed her hand down my arm, starting at my shoulder, it was slow and it left a trail of fire in her wake. When her hand touched mine I gripped it, intertwining our fingers and brought her hand to my lips for a kiss.

"Hmm. Well I thought about how beautiful you are." We reached the clearing and she gasped, it really was beautiful here. I grabbed the blanket from her, the only thing I allowed her to carry in fact and spread it on the ground, then placed the basket on top of it before sitting down myself. Bella followed and sat down beside me.

"What else did you think about?" She pressed, she started taking things out of the basket and I had to say I was impressed. There was a Tupperware container full of what looked like potato salad; she then pulled out a green salad, two bottles of water, and pieces of roasted chicken, it looked delicious and my mouth was watering already. I didn't realize how hungry I actually was until I smelled that chicken.

"Wow, this looks amazing. Did you make all this?"

"Yep. There's dessert too if you're a good boy. Now what were we talking about?" She put her finger to her chin in thought. "Oh yes, you were telling me about what you thought about when you came here. Please continue."

"Are you fishing for compliments Miss. Swan?" I leaned in closer to her, looking directly into her soulful brown eyes.

"Who me? Never!"

"Mmhm, sure. Let's see, where was I? Oh yes. I thought about how when you sing the rest of the world falls away and all I see and hear is you. I thought about killing Jasper because when I thought about his hands on you it made my skin crawl and to be honest I'm a jealous fuck sometimes." She raised an eyebrow at me. "Okay, most of the time." Again with the raised eyebrow. This woman doesn't believe any of my bullshit and for some reason it makes me love her even more. "Okay, okay all of the time. You can let some of them go you know."

"Not a chance. So let's see you thought about how beautiful I am, which really is just ridiculous, my singing voice and killing Jasper. Is that it?"

"Well there is also the tiny issue of how much I want to kiss you, touch you and do things that we certainly aren't ready for, but God how I want to. These are the thoughts that plague my mind constantly, not just when I'm here." I told her honestly, leaning into her. Bella blushed, but looked down at her lap, but I was having none of that. With my index finger placed under her chin, I nudged her beautiful face up so I could see her. "Much better." I placed a gentle kiss on her lips when she finally looked at me.

"Edward…" Bella whimpered. "What are you doing to me?"

"What am I doing to you?" I asked seductively, or at least I hoped it was seductive.

"Fuck."

"Not yet baby, but I sure as hell plan on it." Bella's breathing seemed to be increasing and I hadn't even touched her or kissed her, other than the soft kiss a minute ago. It was a boost to my ego to be able to get her so worked up with just my words. "Let's eat." I dug into the delicious food before me as Bella calmed down. Her face was noticeably flushed, I held back on laughing, knowing it would just get me in trouble and we couldn't have that, now could we? "This is so good Bella. Thank you for making this and bringing it here. Nobody has ever brought me a picnic to work before."

"I'm glad I could be your first Edward." The blush crept up on her face again, it was too fucking cute. "I had another reason coming here."

"What, you didn't just miss me? I'm hurt Bella."

"Oh shut up. Of course I missed you, but I wanted to talk to you about Jasper. I thought we should maybe think about what we're going to tell him and I really would like to have this done and over with sooner than later."

"Agreed. What do you think we should tell him?" I asked. I knew what I thought we should say, but I wanted to hear her thoughts and it looked like she had taken a lot into consideration on this topic. I know it's important to her, setting the record straight so we could all move on.

"I was thinking that we don't go into details, just give him the basics you know, that we kissed a couple of times but nothing else happened until he and I were broken up. I mean he knows that we both have feelings for each other and that they started a while ago."

"I think that sounds perfect. It was pretty much what I was thinking too. He's well aware of how I feel about you, then and now, no use rubbing his nose in it. Plus kissing is fairly innocent, right?" The raised eyebrow made another appearance, yeah; I didn't think that was going to fly with her.

"Edward, we kissed…passionately…while I had a boyfriend. That kiss made my damn legs turn into jell-o. I felt more in those kisses with you than I ever had with anyone before .life. They weren't innocent."

"Legs into Jell-o, huh?" I smirked at her. She blushed again; I was really loving that I could get that reaction out of her.

"Will you shut it? Jeez. Yes, you're a good kisser, it's not like you don't know this already you egomaniac." We had already finished eating, so we both started cleaning up. I left the kissing compliment alone for the time being, but you can bet your ass I was going to be going back to that at some point.

"Where's my dessert?"

"I don't know if you deserve dessert. You weren't very good." She said teasingly, the twinkle in her eye told me she wanted to play and if that's what she wanted then I would give it to her.

"I think I've been good, but I guess I could be better. If it'll help that is." I got on my hands and knees, crawling slowly over to her.

"Well I don't know, you'd have to be _really, really_ good."

"I think I can handle that." I was right in front of her now; she shifted a bit, leaning back, her arms behind her, legs stretched out in front of her. I crawled over her legs, letting my hand caress her exposed skin as I went. When I finally made it up her body she was looking at me with an intensity that would have brought me to my knees had I not already been here. Her eyes were dark; her bottom lip in between her teeth and her skin was flushed again. Bella's breathing started to speed up as I looked at her, wanting to memorize every piece her. Suddenly I couldn't take it anymore, I needed to taste her, I pushed forward, my lips slamming onto hers with a force that made her fall back. She squeaked when she hit the ground and for a moment I thought I hurt her, but when she smiled and pulled me down to her then let out a little giggle I knew she was fine. Our kisses were soft, but quickly grew intense when her tongue darted out, she licked my bottom lip and not being one who could ever resist her I opened up to her, letting her tongue mingle with mine. I moaned when her left leg hooked around my waist. I could feel the heat of her core on my groin and I pushed my rock hard erection into her.

"Oh God. Edward!" I pushed into her again, my mouth lavishing her neck with kisses. My need to mark her was strong but I didn't think she would appreciate a big hickey on her neck. "I need more. _Please!_" If more is what she wants then that's what I would give her. I moved my hand from her hip to her breast, massaging and kneading her, her nipple pebbled underneath my hand. My lips went back to hers as I pinched her nipple, and then rolled it between my thumb and forefinger. "Oh yeah. Just like that." She moaned.

"You like that baby?" Bella just mmm'ed in response and rolled her hips into mine. "You feel so good Bella."

"You do too." The realization of what we were doing finally hit me, I wasn't going to have our first time here, outside, right behind my office building. I wanted to take my time with her, make her feel worshiped and loved, preferably on a bed, so I eased off and unhooked her leg from behind me. "Wha-what are you doing?"

"We need to stop; I don't want to get carried away." Her face immediately dropped, like I was rejecting her. "No, no, Bella. I just want to do this right with you. I want to take my time with you, worship you and I can't do that here. I need to get back to the office soon and I know you have a lesson to get to, plus we are essentially behind my office building and anyone could come back here and see us."

"Oh, okay." She said shyly. I kissed her again and jumped up. She took my offered hand and sat back up. "I think you earned your dessert." I smiled, wondering what she brought. When she brought it out of the basket I about lost it.

"Is that…? Oh shit, please tell me that is what I think it is."

"It's homemade red velvet cupcakes." I moaned at the mention of my favorite dessert. "I take it you like those." I attacked her again, kissing her with everything I had. When I let her up she giggled again. "I take it that's a yes?"

"That's a HELL YES!" She handed over the cupcake and I just about shoved the whole cupcake in my mouth. "Mmmm, shooo kooof"

"What?" Bella laughed, crumbs from the cupcake were flying out of my mouth when I tried to tell her how good the cupcake was. Once I had swallowed the huge bite I had taken I took a big gulp of water and wiped my mouth I was finally able to answer her.

"I said that, that was so good." Then I proceeded to shove the rest of it in my mouth. I closed my eyes as the flavors all melted in my mouth.

"You're adorable." I opened my eyes and stared at Bella like she was crazy. How could she possibly think that a grown man with half a cupcake shoved in his mouth is adorable? "What, you are. You, uh..have a little something." She pointed to a spot on my face, I reached up to get it, but she stopped me. "Uh uh. Let me." She moved closer to me and licked the corner of my mouth, moaning as the taste of cupcake hit her tongue. "Delicious."

"You're making it extremely difficult for me not to take you right here in this field."

She just got a wicked smile on her face and I was about to jump her and say the hell with it when my phone rang. "Damn it!" I yelled. I looked at the caller ID, groaning when I saw it was Heidi. "Sorry, I have to get this." Bella just smiled at me and started cleaning up again. "Hello."

"I'm sorry to interrupt Dr. Cullen, but your next patient just arrived, I told her she was early but she insisted that she wasn't and wanted to know where you were."

"Okay, thanks Heidi. I'll be right there." I hung up the phone and gathered up the blanket, folding it neatly while Bella got the rest of the stuff in the basket. "Thank you Bella."

"You're welcome." I grabbed her around the waist, pulling her to me and kissed her. She wasted no time deepening it, I pulled away giving her one more chaste kiss on the lips before taking the basket from her and making the short walk back to my office hand in hand. "I guess I have to let you get back to work now, don't I?"

"Unfortunately baby. I would love nothing more than to spend the entire day with you though. Can I call you later?"

"You better." She kissed my lips one last time, gave my hand a squeeze and walked to her car. "Bye Edward. Have a good rest of the day."

"Bye Bella. Have a good lesson with Jane. I'll call you when I'm off work, love."

**BPOV**

Dear God the things that man can do with his mouth and hands. Ugh! I just want those hands and mouth all over me all the time. To be perfectly honest, the feelings he brings out in me scare the shit out of me. After Jamie I never thought I'd ever want another man's hands on me, but this afternoon with Edward was nothing short of spectacular. He was literally all over me and I wanted more, so much more. I was so disappointed when he said he didn't want to get carried away, but I understood, because I wanted our first time to be special too. The things I wanted to do to that man's body…ugh I can't go there right now. I'm already hot and bothered thinking about our time together this afternoon and I had a lesson with Jane to get ready for, being turned on was not going to do me any good at the lesson.

"Hey Bella!" Speak of the devil.

"Hi Jane. How was your week?" I asked, getting things ready for her lesson. Jane was fun to teach, she liked the newer stuff so that's what we played. Her favorite is _The Killers_, great band so I enjoyed our lessons, not that there was anything wrong with the classics, but she's young and identifies more with the newer songs.

"It was great. I practiced for hours, I just couldn't seem to get that song from last week right, but I think I finally nailed it last night. Let me show you." She said excitedly, it put a smile on my face; she really is such a great student.

"I can't wait. Show me what 'cha got girl."

She played _Only Human_ and damn if the girl didn't nail it. "I'm speechless Jane. Oh my god, you nailed that song. Do you have any idea how incredible it is that you got it perfect in only a week?" Jane giggled and blushed from the compliment.

"Thanks. I really wanted to get it right. So what else do you have for me?" I pulled out the music for _Spaceman_, it's the song she keeps asking for and we were finally going to play it. And that's exactly what we did for the next hour.

"Spill." Rose demanded as soon as I got home from my lesson with Jane.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't act dumb Bella. Tay told me about your little lunch date, now I want details." She poured me a glass of wine; she already had one and a bottle on the coffee table, she was obviously waiting for me. She was curled up on the couch, her legs tucked in under her.

I huffed and sat down. There was no way I was getting away with not spilling the details of what went down with Edward. "Okay. I surprised him at his office, my original thought was just to have a make-shift picnic in his office, but instead we went to this clearing behind his office building and before you say anything, it was really nice, it was secluded, trees everywhere, it was perfect."

"That's so sweet Bella. Now get to the good stuff."

"My god Rose, he is just…ugh! He's fucking amazing. We made out…a lot and holy shit it was good. He's got these great hands and when he touches me." I shivered at just the thought of what those hands could do to me.

"So did you guys have sex?"

"No, he said he wanted to be in a bed, make it special you know. He said he wanted to worship me. I have never in my life had someone say that to me or make me feel so wanted and special. I just know when we finally do have sex it's going to be unbelievable." I'm sure I had a far off look on my face as I thought about having sex with Edward; it was going to good, really good.

"Wow." Rose said, she looked like she was on cloud nine right along with me.

"Yeah." I replied, my voice barely a whisper as I continued thinking about it. "What's happening with you and Emmett?"

"Lots of great sex now that he's back. Good lord I don't think that man needs any recovery time. I'm sore from all the shmexin." She got the same far off look on her face that I was sure I had only moments ago. "I think he's the one B."

This was a hugging moment, so that's what we did; I leaned over and hugged my best friend. "That's so great Rose. I'm so happy for you."

"Me too. I never thought I would find anything like this."

We talked more about the progress of her relationship, she was certain that Emmett was going to ask her to move in with him soon and as much as I was sad to be losing my roomie I was happy for her. I was by myself here for a long time before she moved here and I was fine, besides that just meant that Edward and I didn't have to be quiet whenever he was here and we were doing…things. (wink, wink). We finished off the bottle of wine then Rose said she had a date with Emmett that she needed to get ready for. Forty five minutes later she was waving goodbye and telling me not to wait up for her.

My phone rang at six thirty and I all but ran to go get it, I knew who it was without even looking at the screen.

"Hi" I answered breathlessly, okay, so I actually did run to get it. What? Don't judge, you would too if someone as hot as Edward was calling you, don't lie and say you wouldn't, cause I'd call bullshit.

"You okay baby? You sound a little winded." He was sweet sounding all worried about me.

"Yeah, I just had to run to get the phone in time." Not to mention I was excited to hear your voice. I didn't say that last part out loud, that would just be embarrassing.

"Damn and I thought maybe you were just really excited to talk to me." I could almost see the smirk on the other end of the phone.

"Well you do have a sexy voice." I told him.

"Do I now?" He replied low and seductively. Damn my panties are already wet and he's not even here.

"Oh yes. Very sexy." I purred in response, hoping I was having the same effect on him that he was on me.

"Good to know. I'll have to keep that locked up for later. Right now though, I wanted to make sure you were doing okay."

"I'm fantastic Edward. I had a really amazing day today, how could I not be on cloud nine?"

"I had a pretty fantastic day myself sweets. How was your lesson with Jane?" I was so happy that he was interested in my day and my work, but I felt like there was something else on his mind that he wasn't saying.

"Good. Jane is a natural at the piano. That girl could easily get into Julliard if her parents let her apply. I'm going to talk to them about it in a couple of weeks, she really wants to go, but doesn't know how to tell them so I offered to help." I paused for a second, wondering if I should even ask what's really on his mind, then I decided I might as well and went for it. "So what's on your mind Edward?"

"What? Nothing. I just wanted to call and check in on you." I wasn't convinced.

"Uh huh. I'm not buying it. What's on your mind?" I heard a huff on the other end and thought that maybe I had upset him, but I knew he wasn't saying something and part of being in a relationship was being able to communicate with each other. "You know this doesn't bode well for our relationship if you won't talk to me about what's bothering you."

"Can I come over?" He asked suddenly.

"Of course, if you promise to talk to me."

"I don't think we'll be doing a whole lot of talking if I come over baby." He crooned, liquid sex pouring through the phone. I was turned on, but I couldn't let him distract me.

"Noooooo, talking is exactly what we'll be doing and maybe, just maybe if I'm satisfied with whatever you have to say then we can do…other things, in bed." If he could try to get me off track using sex then I could bribe him with it to get him to talk. Sneaky, sure, but hey turnabout is fair play, right.

"You'll be left satisfied baby, don't you worry about that." I have no doubt at all baby.

"EDWARD! Seriously! Will you tell me what's bothering you if you come over or not?"

"You're no fun. Alright, yes, we'll talk. I promise. Now, are you hungry? I could bring some food over." He asked. I agreed on whatever he wanted and hung up the phone. Half an hour later there was a knock on my door. When I opened it there stood Edward with flowers in one hand and Chinese take-out in the other. Did I mention that I have an amazing boyfriend?

We settled into the dining room with our dinner, but were silent, mostly. He did tell me about work, said it was crazy all day and he thought of nothing but me the whole time, which I didn't think was a very good idea when dealing with patients lives and I told him so, his reply to that was "I'm just that good baby". After everything was cleaned up we sat down on the couch next to each other. He had moved my hair off the shoulder closest to him and started placing light kisses on my shoulder and neck. "Mmm, Edward, as good as that feels you have some talking to do." He groaned but pulled away, shifting uncomfortably.

"Yeah, okay. How do I say this?" He took a deep breath and so did I; I had a feeling this wasn't going to be a good conversation if he was this nervous about it. "I've been thinking. I know you have this fucked up past with this Jamie guy and as much as it makes me sick knowing what little I do know, I think I need to know what happened. All of it." I let out a breath, did he deserve to know what happened, of course he did, especially if we were going to move forward with this whole relationship. He knows bits and pieces, but the whole story, it scared me to tell him, what would his reaction be? Would he think this, I, was too much for him to handle. It's been five years and I've been going through therapy for four and a half of those years so I've pretty much accepted what happened to me, but could he be as accepting.

"Alright, I'll tell you." So there I sat, trying to form the words to tell him exactly what happened. I went on autopilot and told him everything. As long as he didn't stop me in the middle I was sure I could get through it without breaking down. Dr. Garrett told me that I would need to tell whoever I was with eventually and the best way to do that was to just get through it. He understood how hard this was for me to talk about, but he swore it would be therapeutic to tell my partner. When I told Rose and Alice about it a year after it happened, it was still raw, I had only been talking to Garrett for six months at that time and it was impossible to get through without breaking into tears every five minutes. I took a deep breath and just decided to let it all out. I would deal with the consequences of Edward's reaction later, this is just a part of my past and if he couldn't deal with it I'd let him go and not make a big deal out of it.

"When I was in college, sophomore year I was at a bar with my friend Bree and her boyfriend Riley. Bree and I were dancing and that's when Jamie approached me. We danced and I made the mistake of leaving with him. After that we dated, he was sweet and gentle and didn't mind waiting until I was ready to have sex. I wasn't a virgin or anything, but I believed/believe, that you need to have concrete feelings for someone before you take things that far. After three months I felt ready and I told him one night over dinner. He had come over and I cooked, Bree had made herself scarce, knowing about my plan so we had the place to ourselves. Everything went off as planned and we had sex that night." I saw Edward cringe as I said this, I'm sure he didn't want the details of what happened that night, to be honest, he'd probably be relieved, because it was hands down one of the worst sexual encounters I'd ever had, well besides the other stuff he did to me. I guess I should say that it was one of the worst "normal" sexual encounters I'd ever had. "After that is when things started getting bad. He'd get pissed and possessive anytime I even talked to another guy, even if it was just for a school project or whatever. I could never prove it but I'm pretty sure he beat up my lab partner, Julian. He came into the library to pick me up one day and I was sitting there with Julian doing our research and he flipped his lid. Two days later I saw Julian in class and his face was all bruised up and he said he got into a bar fight with some random guy the night before. I didn't buy it for one second but the look in his eyes told me not to press the issue.

"Jamie started hitting me not too long after that incident. He hated me going out with Bree and Riley, he even hated it when we all were hanging around our apartment, he said Riley was after me and it was worse being in the apartment with him because he could easily sneak in my room and try to have sex with me. He would constantly try to start fights with Riley whenever they were in the same room together, it got so bad that Bree finally had enough and moved in with Riley, leaving me in the apartment alone. With me concentrating mostly on my studies I only had a part time job at the local coffee shop, and I couldn't afford the rent on our apartment by myself so Jamie told me to move in with him, which I did. I was stupid, I know this, hell I even knew it was a bad idea at the time, but I still did it.

"On move in day Jamie was out the entire time, so I had to pretty much moved all my stuff in on my own, Riley helped me with the heavier things, the furniture was all Bree's so I didn't have that much, but still you would think your boyfriend would help you move into _his_ house. Needless to say I was pissed when he didn't come home until well after midnight on my first night there so I laid into him. He yelled at me telling me that he didn't have to answer to me and I'd do well to remember that in the future. When I yelled back at him that we are now living together and he needed to tell me if he was going to be out late he hit me pretty hard across the face. I had a huge bruise across my cheek and a huge gash on my lower lip the next day. When Bree asked me about it I told her I was my usual clumsy self and ran into the door when I was moving. I don't think she bought it, but she let it go. I stopped hanging out with them eventually so it was just me and Jamie. Alice and Rose were off at college in other states, we talked on the phone, but I never let them in on what was happening.

"From there it just escalated and he would hit me for having my schoolwork out, or leaving a glass in the sink. Mind you Jamie was never what you would call tidy, but once I moved in he expected the place to be spotless all the time. He forced himself on me more time then I can count, hitting me, or choking me in the process. He got off on it, if I fought it just spurred him on so I learned to just lay there and take it. Nobody knew, not even my parents. They loved Jamie, but my mom's husband, Phil always thought there was something off about him. Guess they should have listened to him more." I laughed humorlessly. Edward's hand was holding mine while his free hand rubbed my leg. "Anyway I finally had had enough one night a little over 5 years ago. I was making dinner and when he came home, drunk off his ass, he was complaining about one of his co-workers, I made some comment about how he couldn't do much about it since her father owned the company and that's when he not only hit me, but he threw the pot of hot food at me, he then yelled at me to clean it up, told me I was worthless and no-one would want me. Then he raped me, he was so rough it literally felt like I was being torn in two. He passed out after he got off so I packed as much as I could, left him and that place and went straight to the police. They immediately took me to the hospital for a rape kit and to check for any injuries. He was arrested and with the rape kit and my testimony he was put away for 6 years, the maximum sentence they could give him for what he did to me. He's actually up for release in a year and frankly it scares the shit out of me. I just know he'll come looking for me, but I've done a pretty good job of covering my tracks. This apartment is in Tanya's name, pretty much everything I have is in Tanya's name. She's been here for me ever since I left Jamie, even before then really, but she's the one who helped me get out and go to the police." I sat there silent letting him take in everything I had just said, I didn't dare look at him for fear of what I'd see in his eyes. He's probably trying to figure out the best way to leave without causing a scene.

"Bella. I'm…God, I'm so sorry baby." His arms were like a steel trap holding me tightly to him. I could feel wetness streaking down my arm and chest. I realized the tears on my chest were mine and the ones on my arm were Edwards. He was crying, because of me. "I don't know how anyone could do something to awful to someone as beautiful and pure as you. I want to kill him." He suddenly sounded angry, I could feel his body temperature rising as he held onto me. "Don't worry; I'm never going to let that bastard hurt you again. Ever, do you hear me Bella? I will keep you safe, forever and always."

I cried in his arms for what felt like hours until I eventually drifted off to sleep. When I woke up I was wrapped in Edward, who was fast asleep. My movements must have woken him up because he started to stir.

"Hey." He said groggily and tried to sit up.

"Hi." I wasn't sure how he was feeling at this point, was he just going to go now and never talk to me again? I didn't know if I could handle that, but if he did I had great friends to get me through it.

"Bella." He said softly. I looked up at him through blurry eyes and I immediately noticed how sad he looked. I hoped he did it quick, just rip off the band-aid. "Hey, don't cry baby. Please don't cry. I'm here." I sobbed and once again he held me until my tears subsided. "I know what you're thinking and I'm not going anywhere. You can't get rid of me that easily Bella. I've waited too long to have you in my arms and some fucked up thing happening to you in the past isn't going to change anything. Do you hear me?" His voice was soft, but his tone forceful. In his eyes there was a look of pure sincerity. There was no denying his words were honest, so I did what I could to tell him that I believed him, I kissed him.

**EPOV**

Bella's story broke me, crying was inevitable. When she was telling me, it was like she wasn't even really there, she was so disconnected. I tried my best to comfort her by holding her hand and rubbing her leg. I also kept my mouth shut, knowing somehow that she needed that from me in order to finish her story. She was drained by the time she was done and cried while I held her. Somehow we both managed to fall asleep for a few hours. I wanted to ask her about the overdose, but I figured I'd save that for another time. I didn't want to put her through too much in one day.

We both woke up and the look in her eyes made me want to rip that asshole's head clean off; she was scared, most likely thinking she had scared me away with her story, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. If anything I was more determined than ever to stay and do everything in my power to protect her. She is my life now and I would do anything for her. I tried to comfort her with my words, and I'm pretty sure she saw the truth in them and my tone because she kissed me with everything she had and damn did it feel good.

She broke our intense make-out session after a few minutes, but held onto my face as she looked me in the eyes. "I have more to tell you Edward." She said, and then placed a chaste kiss on my lips. Bella sat back on her couch getting ready to lay more on me. I took a deep breath to prepare myself. I didn't know how much worse this was going to be, but I had to steel myself for whatever it was. Once I was ready I looked her in the eyes, nodded and waited.

"The night of the overdose." She blew out some air then continued. "The flashback I told you I had, it was a memory of that last night with him, of all the things he did to me. I don't have them very often, but they do happen occasionally. I've been seeing a therapist for the past 4 and half years and it's really helped. My appointments used to be three times a week when I started, but now I'm down to once a month, sometimes once every couple of months, but I'm sure I'll be back to at least twice a month now after everything that happened recently. I'm doing a lot better with things now and I just wanted to tell you that the overdose it was just a stupid mistake, one that will never happen again. I was so stupid drinking and taking medication at the same time. I didn't do it because of the memories though; it was all just a desperate attempt to get some sleep. I just need you to know that I would never even think to hurt myself, ever. Hell if I didn't try it right after I left, having nightmares every night, then why would I do it now?"

Her words made the huge weight that I was carrying melt away. She didn't do it on purpose, I already knew that, but hearing that it wasn't done because of the memories, but just the need to get some sleep made me feel better. Sure she didn't go about it the right way, but I could only imagine the amount of anxiety that dream caused her and honestly she only took the two pills and from what she told me she did drink quite a bit, but the woman is tiny, her body couldn't handle the combination.

"Thank you Bella. For telling me all this. I can't even imagine what that must have been like for you, if I could take away all that pain I would baby. And I know you didn't overdose on purpose, but can you promise me that if this ever happens again you call me instead of taking pills and drinking?"

Bella got a sly smile on her beautiful face then said, "You mean you won't be in bed with me?"

"Baby girl, you have no idea what you do to me." I lunged forward and kissed her. She seemed okay, what with the playing around and all but I wasn't about to push her. Bella moved to straddle my lap, which seems to be her favorite thing to do, you won't hear me complaining either. "Ugh baby, I love it when you straddle me." I went back to attacking her mouth, when our lips met her mouth was parted and took that as an invitation and thrust my tongue into her mouth. Her hands went to their usual place in my hair, but she tugged a little harder than normal this time, causing me to moan. My hands were placed on her hips, keeping her in place on my lap; I knew she felt my arousal when she started wiggling on me causing white hot heat to spread throughout my body. "Fuck Bella."

"You like that baby?" She asked, moving more against my straining erection. I could only grunt my approval. Her lips kissed up and down my jaw, then my neck. Her hands moved from my hair to the hem of my shirt and she started tugging but she didn't have a whole lot of room with the way our bodies were pressed together, so she backed up. My shirt came off in one quick move and Bella was back on me, kissing every newly exposed inch of skin. Not wanting to be outdone I played with the hem of her shirt, silently letting her know that I wanted it off. She moved back again so I had room to work, then I whipped her shirt off and threw it somewhere behind me. I groaned when I saw what she was wearing. It was a dark blue bra, all lace and it left absolutely nothing to the imagination. Her breasts were calling me so I did what they wanted and wrapped my mouth around one nipple as my fingers pinched at the other. Her head was thrown back now as she moaned in pleasure. "Just like that Edward. Holy fuck I love your mouth."

"Ah hell!" Someone who was definitely not Bella or I yelled from somewhere in the apartment. "Will you two please do that in your room Bella? I'm getting tired of coming home to see you two going at it." Rose, of course. It was probably a good thing that she interrupted us, because we were well on our way to "out of control".

"ROSE!" Bella screamed as she scrambled off the couch and my lap to find her shirt.

"Oh, it's not like I haven't seen it all and more before Bella." What was this? They've seen each other naked? Did they have pillow fights in skimpy lingerie too, because that would be hot. "Hi Edward."

I gave Rose a wave, still lost in the thoughts of them in lingerie and pillow fights. "I, uh, should probably go." I had to adjust myself before I got up, not so much to hide my…err problem, but because it was fucking uncomfortable, besides I didn't have anything to hide it with, my shirt was somewhere on the floor.

"Don't leave on my account lover boy. I can put on some music to tune you two out."

"Bella, what do you want me to do?" I asked, because of our talk tonight I wasn't sure if she wanted to be alone and as hard as it/I would be staying with her tonight I would do it to make her happy, holding her all night while we slept would just be an added bonus.

"I'll be alright. I know you have to work tomorrow and you don't have anything here." Her shirt was now on, a fact that made me a little sad. She came over to me, with my shirt in her hand. I took it and put it on real fast before pulling her into my arms so I could say goodbye properly.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" She nodded into my chest. "Okay, will you call me if you have another nightmare?" She nodded again as her hold on me tightened. "Good. I'll call you when I get home and we'll see each other tomorrow night." I kissed the top of her head and hugged her. Reluctantly I left her, something that seemed to just be getting harder to do and we'd only been together for less than a week. I did call when I got home, we said goodnight and I laid in bed thinking about what she shared with me tonight. She was so brave leaving him the way she did and going to the police, I know that takes a lot of courage for someone who had lived in that situation for as long as she did. It was silly, really for her to think that I would leave her after that, if anything it just made me love her more and I was determined to prove it to her.

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**A/N: As always reviews get a look at the next chapter. I hope you were happy with the way this chapter went. It was really hard for me to write so I hope I did a good enough job. I did look into how much time someone would get for violent rape and it varies from 24-96 months. For Jamie I went with the longest sentence. Now that her story is all out they can move forward. The songs her and Jane were working on were both from The Killers. Music suggestions are not only appreciated but welcome. Let me know if you have any ideas.**


	15. Chapter 15

**I have entered the** **One Shot Soundtrack Volume II contest taking place from February 26 – March 13, you can find the stories at ****http:/www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/~ossoundtrack. Everyone should check this out, because the first contest had some amazing one shots and this one will too no doubt.**

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BPOV**

I told him, all of it and he didn't run away from me. In fact it went a lot better than I thought it would. I expected the jaw twitching, a sure sign that he was pissed, not at me of course, but I had no doubt in my mind that if he ever saw Jamie he would beat the living shit out of him. What I didn't expect though was the full acceptance of everything, without question. His response is what led to the feelings currently coursing through my very being. I was irrevocably in love with this man that much was clear.

As soon as the front door was closed Rose rounded on me, wasting no time with small talk, not that I would expect anything less from my best friend.

"What happened tonight? Did you tell him about…you know?"

"Yeah, I told him everything and the crazy thing; he didn't run away screaming Rose." I said, still somewhat in shock that he hadn't done just that.

"Well no shit Bella Bean. Why would he leave? This thing with Jamie, it was fucked up, but it's been five fucking years, it's not like it happened six months ago. Hell if it had just happened I would take serious issue with you jumping into something with Edward and wouldn't mind telling you about it either. B, he's head over heels, that much is painfully obvious. Why you two waited as long as you did to get together I'll never know."

"Thanks Rose. How was your date with Emmett?"

"Good, great. He asked me to move in with him over dessert."

"OH MY GOD! Why was that not the first thing you said when you walked in the door you bitch!" I yelled excitedly for my friend.

"Because Bella, you obviously needed to talk about what happened with Edward and I wanted to hear all about it. Speaking of which, when are you two going to talk to Jasper?"

"Saturday. I'm really nervous about it too. I'm not sure how he's going to take it." The thought of telling Jasper about Edward and I was turning my stomach into knots. I know it's the right thing to do obviously, but it doesn't make it any less stressful.

"It'll be fine, just try not to stress over it." Rose hugged me, knowing that I needed to comfort at that moment. "I need to talk to you about moving though, are you okay to talk about that right now or do you want to give it a few days?"

"No, I can handle it, everything is good. We can talk now, I'm fine." I didn't want my drama to ruin Rose's good mood.

"Okay, um. Emmett wants me to move in as soon as possible and I was thinking that maybe next weekend would be good? I don't have that much stuff that I need to pack since most of my stuff is in storage, but with work I was thinking it would take me a week to pack up the things I brought here. What do you think?"

"I think that sounds great Rose. I'm so happy for you guys."

"I'm happy for you too Bella. Edward is so good for you." Rose stated happily. "I'm pretty tired so I'm going to go to bed. Night Bella."

"Night Rose. Thanks for the talk."

"Anytime." She replied.

I had a lot to think about, with my new feelings for Edward, my stress over what to say to Jasper, getting back to the club to work and the new songs in the works, not to mention Alice and her backstabbery, so needless to say sleep didn't come easy for me. The only thing that made me really happy was the fact that Edward took my news so well, I just hoped that come tomorrow, after some time to think about things he doesn't change his mind.

I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing shrilly and when I opened my eyes I noticed it was almost noon, geez, I guess I was tired. I quickly grabbed the phone to answer it in time and was pleasantly surprised to hear the warm chocolaty voice of my boyfriend on the other line and it sounded like he was in a good mood. "Hey Beautiful. What are you up to right now?"

"Just woke up actually."

"Having a lazy day today are we?" He asked teasingly.

"I guess. I didn't get to sleep until almost four this morning."

"Why is that? Something on your mind? You want to talk about it?"

"I was just thinking about you and Jasper." I told him, not realizing what I had actually said and how my voice sounded when I said it. My voice was still groggy from sleep, but one would think I was trying to sound sexy if they hadn't known I just woke up, which Edward did.

"So not going there baby. I will not have a threesome with Jasper, but if you want to add a girl into the mix I might be willing…"

"EW Edward!" I screeched, he's such a guy, I swear. "I was not thinking about you both like that, besides there is no way I am EVER sharing you with anyone, even Jasper." His laughter on the other end of the phone assured me that he was teasing. "Ok, you can stop laughing anytime now ya perv." He managed to calm down and asked me what I was thinking if I wasn't thinking about a threesome, like it was a given that I'd be thinking of that as opposed to something less…sexual. "I was thinking about how he was going to take what we had to say. I keep thinking he's going to be pissed."

"Well, he's not going to be happy, that much I can guarantee, but I seriously doubt he's going to be pissed, I mean it's not like he's totally innocent and you've already forgiven him for what he did. Don't worry so much about it."

"I guess."

"What about me were you thinking? Good things I hope."

"Um…I was sort of nervous about how you'd feel about me today after everything we talked about." This was it, was he going to tell me that he's changed his mind? He didn't talk like that's what was going to happen; I was probably worrying for no reason, as usual.

"Hm, well my feelings have changed slightly after our little talk." Gulp! Uh oh, this doesn't sound good at all.

"Wh-what do you…mean…changed?" I stuttered. Do I really want to hear this?

"I mean that after hearing about what happened to you last night I feel more protective of you and…I..I'm falling for you Bella. I know it's too early to say those three words, but I can feel them."

I was dumbfounded, he was falling for me? Wow. I was so shocked that I was silent trying like mad to process this information. I was ecstatic of course because I was feeling the same way.

"You do?" He asked. I had no idea what he was asking me.

"I do what?"

"You feel the same way? That's what you said. I mean I almost didn't hear you but I thought that's.."

"YES! Yes, I was thinking it, but I didn't realize I said it out loud, but yes I do feel the same way."

"I wish I was there right now so I could kiss you until we are both panting." That did sound good.

"I wish you were here too. Will I see you tonight at Eclipse?" I asked, hoping we could get to the kissing tonight, because I really wanted to get to the kissing.

"I hope so. I'm on call for one of my colleagues tonight, but hopefully there won't be anything pressing to keep me away from you. I really want to see you Bella." There was a lot of noise in the background then I heard him being called over what I could only assume was the loud speaker at the hospital. "Bella, I'm being paged. I'll talk to you later okay baby?"

"Okay. Have a good rest of the day."

"I will now." He hung up the phone after that. I just stared at it, wondering if that really happened or if it was just a dream. I pinched myself just to make sure and "OW!" that hurt. Guess I'm not dreaming, he really did say he felt it, you know the big L word. The rest of by day flew by; I was on cloud nine the entire day. Karaoke was easy, Edward didn't make it though, some emergency surgery needed to be performed on one of his colleague's patients. I played the part of the understanding girlfriend to a freaking t, but inside I was upset because he wouldn't be there tonight. He did promise to take me out on a proper date tomorrow night though, so at least I had that to look forward to. The rest of the night went smoothly and as always Angela helped me clean up. Emmett and Rose stayed behind to make sure I got to my car without incident. Apparently Edward had called Emmett to look after me after closing since he couldn't be there.

Friday night was now here, after a long day of cleaning the apartment, I was trying to keep myself busy to make the day fly by like it did the day before but it didn't work. I just hopped out of the shower and am now in the process of brushing the tangles out of my hair. I have no idea what we're doing tonight, Edward just told me to dress comfortably and to be ready to go by seven. It's six now so I have an hour until he gets here. I have no idea what to wear, these are the times that I wished Alice were here, but I can't dwell on that situation right now. If I think about her then I'll just wind up getting pissed and that is _not _how I want to spend my evening with Edward.

After drying my hair and using a flat iron I apply some light make-up, just the basics, mascara and some lip gloss. Pleased with how I look I venture to my closet to find something to wear. I'm in the middle of tossing half of it out on the bed when Rose walks in.

"What on earth are you doing Bella?"

"Shit. You scared the crap out of me." I yelp at her. My hand is over my chest, hoping it'll calm down my rapidly beating heart. "I'm trying to find something to wear on my date with Edward. He's going to be here in…shit 15 minutes and I can't find anything."

"Where's he taking you?" Rose asks as she digs through the clothes strewn about my room.

"I don't know. He said to dress 'comfortably', whatever that means."

"Ugh! I hate that, it gives you absolutely nothing to work with. Okay, so comfortable, what would you normally wear that comfortable Bella?"

"Sweats, and a tank top."

"Well you can't wear that out on a date with Edward. How about your 7 jeans and ooh, this top is super cute. Perfect." The top she was currently holding out to me is one that Alice bought me when she was here for her previous visit. I can't wear that, I scrunch my nose at it, Rose huffs and puts it down and grabs another. It's purple with ¾ in sleeves and a scoop neck, it's perfect.

"Thank you!" One my clothes are on I dig through my shoes to find something cute but comfortable. I decide on a pair of zebra print ballet flats, they're my favorite and so comfortable, but extremely cute.

"You look great B." Rose comments when I come out. I give her a quick hug and as I do there's a knock on the door. When I open it I am struck dumb by the sight in front of me. Edward in dark wash jeans and a green button down shirt, sleeves rolled to his forearms. Have I ever told you all about his forearms? I swear I could write a song about them, it would have to have a line about my hands all over them and possibly licking, oh yeah, there'd have to be a line about licking. He looks edible, no really, I want to say screw the date, let's stay in so I can have my way with him. That sounds like a good date to me.

"You are breathtaking Bella. I think I'm going to have to kill any man that dares to look at you tonight. Maybe I should just keep you locked up here for the night." See, we're on the same wavelength here. Staying in is sounding better and better. Maybe he'll let me lick his forearms, you know just for research for my song. "Are you ready?" He asks, but before I can answer he offers me some gorgeous purple and pink gerbera daisies.

"They're beautiful. Thank you Edward. Let me just go put these in some water and we can go." He follows me back in, saying hello to Rose as I get a vase and fill it with water. With the flowers in water now we head out. "So where are we going?"

"It's a surprise. Now come on, or we're going to be late beautiful girl." I let him grab my hand and basically drag me out to his car all while laughing like a teenager, we were already having fun and we hadn't even left my building yet. "Your chariot awaits love." Swoon. Could he be any more perfect?

"Why thank you kind sir." Edward kissed my hand and helped me into his car, then ran over to his side and we were off.

We pulled into a spot in front of a line of shops, I was so confused. We were going shopping? I hate shopping. "Um?"

"Just wait love. I promise you'll love it." And the man couldn't have been more right; he led me to this music store about a block away from where we were parked. "Told you. Go, play. I want to see what you can really do." He didn't need to tell me twice, I took off for the piano sitting in the corner. It was a beautiful baby grand, the very same kind I could picture in my home someday.

"Do you play dear?" An elderly woman came up behind me, startling me because I didn't hear her approach at all.

"Yes." I answered simply, my eyes never leaving the beautiful instrument in front of me.

"Play something dear. This piano doesn't get played nearly enough." I nodded and tested the keys, just to make sure it was in tune. It was. I played a few songs, some mine, some not. I noticed Edward standing off to the side watching me intently and felt the need to play the song that I had been working on about him. It started slowly with me humming along, the words flowing through my head, but not coming out of my mouth. "That's lovely dear." The lady, whose nametag read Norma, commented once I was done playing. A quick glance at Edward made my heart just about stop. He was still in the same spot looking at me like I was something to be cherished, that I could give him something special and it felt good. His eyes were red rimmed and I thought I caught him wiping something from his eye. "I don't believe I've ever heard that song, what's it called?"

"It doesn't have a name yet, I'm not quite done with it. Thank you so much for letting me play. It's made my night."

"Please, play as long as you'd like. I have some stocking to do over there. Call me if you need anything…"

"Bella. Nice to meet you." I shook her hand as I said the words.

"Nice to meet you too, Bella." She walked away and I went back to playing. A few minutes later I felt Edward's hand on my shoulder.

"You ready, love? We have dinner reservations." I just nodded and got up. We both said our goodbyes to Norma and promised to come back sometime soon.

"I'm sorry I played for so long. I just couldn't seem to walk away from that piano. It was so beautiful, wasn't it?" I asked. We were walking hand in hand down the street to our next destination which just happened to be a seafood restaurant a few blocks away. I could smell the ocean on the other side of the buildings, the salty ocean air mixed with the smells of the food being prepared in the restaurant made my stomach growl, rather loudly.

Edward chuckled at the noises coming from my stomach; it was a little embarrassing, until I heard his growl too. "Hungry?"

"I guess we both are. I didn't realize how much until the restaurant smells hit me."

"Well this place is the best seafood restaurant in the city. You do like seafood, don't you?" He asked, looking almost tense.

"Who doesn't?" I replied, the tension in his posture melted away and the look on his face was happy again. I loved that face.

The hostess escorted us to our table after Edward gave his name and as we walked I took notice of what everyone else was eating. It all looked so good and my stomach rumbled again. Edward's hold on my hand tightened as we continued to walk to our table.

"Thank you." Edward said when we finally arrived at our table. It was next to wall made entirely of windows overlooking the ocean. There was a candle on the clothed covered table for two. Being the gentleman that he is he pulled my chair out for me so I could sit down before sitting in his own chair. The hostess handed us the menu and wine list and left us. "I saw you checking out everyone's food, anything look good to you?"

"Everything looked good. I don't know how I'm going to decide." I looked over the menu and found something that sounded absolutely amazing, but we'd have to share and I wondered if Edward would be alright with that. "This looks good."

"What?" He asked, his eyes scanning the menu as he waited for my response.

"The Ultimate under the sharable seafood."

"That does look good. Why don't we just get that then?"

"You sure? I don't want to pressure you into it if you had your mind set on something else."

"No, that's perfect. I was deciding between the Dungeness Crab and the Mussels and now I can have both."

"Good evening, welcome to Elliott's. I'm Ryan and I'll be your server tonight. What can I start you off with this evening?"

"We'll have a bottle of the La Crema Chardonnay and I believe we are going to share the Ultimate. Bella?" Edward was so hot ordered for both of us; I was unable to speak, so I nodded my agreement instead.

The waiter took down out order and came back with the wine only moments later. It was really good. Edward has excellent taste that much is clear. "You okay Bella? You've been quiet ever since the waiter came over."

"Mmm Hmm. I'm good, just taking everything in." I leaned a little closer to him so I could be heard by him and only him when I whispered the next part. "You're really hot when you take charge. It took everything in me not to lunge across this table and attack you when you ordered our dinner." I straightened back out and sat comfortably in my seat. Edward's cocky smirk came out and I wanted to lick him. So not helping with the hormones coursing through me right now.

"Well Bella, that's very….interesting." He said seductively, then that damn smirk came back out to play.

"Here's your dinner sir, miss. Is there anything else I can get for you two?" Edward shook his head, but never took his eyes off of me. "Very well. Enjoy."

"Ladies first."

We dug in and my god it was good. I moaned a little and Edward's eyes darkened. I had a feeling that we weren't going to be waiting much longer to have sex if we kept going on like this and oddly I was okay with that.

"Bella, tell me…you're an amazing singer so I have to ask, do you want to make it big someday?" Edward asked when we were about half way through our dinner.

"What I would love more than anything is to write songs for other people. I don't know if you've noticed but I don't do well on stage."

Edward shook his head. "What are you talking about? You're amazing up there on that stage and your voice; it's the most beautiful thing I've ever heard."

"Edward, I normally drink half a bottle of Jack before I get on that small stage. I can't imagine what I would do if I had to sing in front of hundreds of people. No. No, writing songs for someone else is much better, plus I can lead a normal life instead of being in the spotlight." He nodded his head as if he agreed with my logic, but the next words out of his mouth almost made me choke on my delicious crab.

"You should sing, not just write songs for people. I understand the stage fright thing Bella, I do, but you can overcome that and you're far too talented to just write songs for other people. You should be out there on stage playing your guitar with a band behind you singing to everyone who will listen and let me tell you baby, people are going to want to listen. You're amazing."

"I think you've had enough to drink Dr. Cullen. I'm cutting you off." I moved to take his glass of wine away, but he grabbed my wrist before I could get to it.

"I'm not drunk Bella. I'm being honest with you."

"I think you're just biased, not that I don't appreciate it, but seriously Edward?" There was no way I would even be able to do what he was suggesting. My nerves were shot with the small crowd at Requiems. All conversation of me singing professionally ceased at that point but I was positive that he would bring it up again at a later date. Edward talked about his work and all the crazy patients he had to deal with. He had one guy come into the ER when he first started out with a beer bottle shoved up his ass, seems he was in a fraternity at U-Dub and it was a dare. Stupid, stupid people. I was practically in tears from laughing so hard by the time our waiter took our plates away, some of those stories were just downright hilarious, some people do the dumbest things.

We ordered dessert, just a slice of flourless chocolate cake and some coffees and continued talking. I swear we learned more about each other during dinner then we ever had before. Our waiter came by with the check a while later and let us know that we were the last people here and they needed to close up. I hadn't even noticed that everyone else had left. I guess that's what happens when you're so enthralled with another person, the rest of the world just melts away and all that's left is the two of you.

Edward pulled out his wallet and handed his credit card to the waiter and soon we were making our way out into the cold night air, his arm wrapped protectively around my waist, holding me close to his side. I couldn't help but take in the way I fit so perfectly into his side, like we're two puzzle pieces, finally being fitted together.

"What are you smiling about?" He whispered into my ear as we walked down the street.

"Just how perfectly we seem to fit together." I replied. There was no use in hiding it from him, he's nothing but open with me and I'm feeling more and more relaxed with him.

"We do, don't we?" Edward kissed my temple and hugged me tighter to him. We got to his car and he reluctantly let go of me so I could slip into the passenger seat. With a quick kiss on my lips he closed the door once I was situated in the car and walked over to his side. He slid in and started the car. As he drove us back to my apartment he held my hand, I felt the tingles from his touch all the way up my arm and settle into my chest, making my heart beat faster.

**EPOV**

The evening was perfect. Never have I felt this comfortable with another person, let alone a woman. We talked for hours at the restaurant, not even realizing that the other diners had left and all that remained was us. I paid quickly and escorted us to my car. My heart swelled when Bella told me that she was thinking about how perfect we fit together. I was feeling the same way at that moment and couldn't be happier that she was feeling the just as I was. We hadn't talked about our impending talk with Jasper the next day, which I was thankful for. I wanted tonight to be about us and getting to know more about one another. She told me so much about herself, her family and childhood during our long talk that I could just picture her as a young kid, running around her father's house, her hair in pigtails. She told me that her favorite toy was her Peaches N Cream Barbie Doll but she sadly lost it when her mother left her father, taking Bella with her. I vowed then and there to myself that I would find her another one of those dolls to replace the one she lost, no matter the cost.

Once we were parked in front of her apartment I got out so I could help her out of the car. She took my hand and whispered her thanks when she on the sidewalk. Being the gentleman that I am I saw her to her front door, I had no intentions of going any further with her tonight seeing as this was in fact our first date. Bella turned to me, her back to the door and looked at me underneath her lashes. God she's beautiful.

"You're not so bad yourself." She whispered. I looked at her in confusion and she giggled. "You said I was beautiful."

"I said that out loud? Jesus, what have you done to me woman?"

"Probably the same thing you do to me." I raised my eyebrow at her, hoping she'd tell me exactly what it is that I do to her. "You're going to make me say it, aren't you?" I nodded, smirk firmly in place. "You make all coherent thoughts leave my head when you're around, make it impossible for me to keep my filter intact when you look into my eyes just like you're doing now. You make my knees go weak, my pulse rate skyrocket and my mouth go dry. I want nothing more than to wrap myself around you and never let go." Her words sent shock waves through me; she described to a t every single thing I was feeling whenever I was around her. Of course I had had months to get used to it since I have been feeling these things since I first laid eyes on her. "I...is that how you feel Edward?" She was timid and looked like she thought she had said too much.

"Fuck Bella." My voice was husky to my own ears and at that moment I didn't feel much like talking, so I did the only thing I could think of to tell her how much her words affected me.

"Edwar…" I cut her off, bringing my mouth to hers in a fierce kiss, she squeaked in surprise which made me smile against her mouth. Once the surprise wore off she returned my affections with the same intensity, her arms wrapped around my neck holding me to her, meanwhile her hands tugged at my hair, have I mentioned how much I love it when she does that. She broke away from me, breathing heavily and looking into my eyes. "Let's get inside." I just nodded my approval of her plan. She opened the door and called for Rose, there was no-one here but us, thank god for that. Before I could even utter a word Bella had me pinned to the door, her mouth on mine and her hands inside my shirt. The skin on skin contact, even though it was only her fingertips, was electric; my entire body was like a live wire. Holy fuck did I want this woman in every sense of the word.

"Bella…oh holy fuck baby."

Bella pulled away from me and I whined like a toddler who got his favorite toy taken away. I missed her lips already. My grip on her hips got tighter; I didn't want to lose our connection. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I was thinking that we could take this somewhere more…private." Bella backed away from me slowly, our eyes never losing contact. Her hand stretched out to me and I took her offering. She led me to her bedroom and I did an internal fist pump. She closed the door behind us and locked it. It doesn't look like Rose was going to interrupt us this time. "Lay with me Edward." She was already sitting on the bed, but started backing up to the headboard. I groaned just thinking about where this could go. "You coming?" She asked me, sex dripping from her voice. She didn't need to ask me twice, except I guess she did actually ask me twice. I didn't want to waste anymore time standing here looking like an idiot so I bolted for the other side of the bed, removing my shoes before sliding up next to her.

Laying on my side next her was amazing, but I needed more of her and she seemed to need me too since she scooted towards me, her hand moving underneath my shirt again, my skin felt like it was on fire. My hand snaked around her slim waist so I could bring her closer to me. With our faces so close I could feel her breath wash over me and I just couldn't take it anymore, I needed to kiss her, right fucking now! My lips were tentative at first, taking this slow, but Bella was having none of that, her tongue caressed my bottom lip and I happily opened up for her. I let her lead the kiss and I wasn't disappointed. Her mouth devoured mine as her nimble hands explored the skin under my shirt, I was lost in her. I had yet to touch her, not wanting to push her past her comfort zone.

"Touch me Edward. Please, I need to feel you."

"Are you sure Bella?"

"God Yes!" She moaned. My hand moved from her hip and slowly went under her shirt, I could feel her stomach clench as I touched her. Our kisses got more heated and soon we were pulling each other's shirts off. I needed more of her though, deciding to just go with what felt right I started kissing down her neck to her collarbone and sucking lightly on the skin there. She moaned and her hand tightened in my hair. My right hand moved to her back and up to the clasp of her bra. I deftly unhooked the clasp with one hand and Bella gasped into my mouth. She backed away from me and I was about to pout until she took her bra completely off. I lay there staring at her stunned, I wasn't sure what to do, I wanted to look in her eyes to make sure this is what she wanted, but I couldn't take my eyes off the newly exposed flesh. I felt her hand take mine and was again shocked when I saw our hands move over her left breast. With her hand on top of mine we massaged her together. Her nipple puckered underneath my palm and pants grew impossibly tighter. "Edward…you feel so good." Her moan snapped me out of my stupor and I made my other hand join the party, we couldn't have her other breast getting jealous, now could we?

Now that I was fully into things Bella slipped her hand off of mine and I thought she's go straight back to my hair, but she surprised me again by moving down towards my pants. Sooner than I thought possible my pants were around my knees, it seemed as though that's as far as her hands could get them lowered. I kicked them off the rest of the way.

"I want to touch you Edward. Can I?" I stilled for a second to look at her. Was she really asking if it was alright for her to touch me? Was she crazy?

"You never have to ask Bella. I'm yours."

Her breasts were calling to me, begging to be kissed and there was no way I would deny them. She groaned and pushed her chest out to me once my mouth found her nipple. I sucked and nibbled on her, then swirled my tongue around it. My other hand was still on the other breast, massaging and pinching her nipple then everything changed the minute I felt her hand slip inside my boxer briefs.

I moaned and pushed my hips into her hand once she had her hand wrapped around me. Her thumb slipped over the head of my aching cock, spreading the moisture that had already built at the tip for better movement. I quickly removed her pants; the need to make her feel good was overwhelming me. Once her pants were gone I could smell the musky sweet scent of her arousal, I wanted to take my time with her, but I was on the edge already with what she was doing to me so I instead opted to just go for it.

I slipped my hand into her panties, my middle finger sliding down between her lips. She bucked against my hand when I touched her clit and I smiled. Both of us were panting, give the other light pecks as our hands brought the other pleasure. I teased her slit a little before plunging one finger inside her wet hot center. She moaned as I curled my finger inside of her, letting me know that I had hit that secret spot. I pulled my finger back out but plunged a second one inside of her. My thumb, coated in her juices, started making tight circles on her clit as my hand pumped inside of her. Her movements on me had slowed and I was thankful for the reprieve so I could concentrate on bringing her to orgasm. I could feel her muscles start to contract around my fingers and I knew she was close. Her hand sped up on my cock and soon we were both screaming the other's name as we reached our climax at the same time.

"HOLY!." Bella whispered after our breathing had slowed down. We were now lying comfortably under her covers, me on my back, and her on her stomach. Her head was on my chest, arm wrapped around me and our legs intertwined. I had never felt as complete as I did right now.

"Yeah." I whispered back at her.

"Can you stay tonight?" She asked. I told her I would and we quickly fell asleep holding onto each other. It was the best night's sleep I'd ever had.

When I woke the next morning Bella was still lying on top of me snoring lightly. It was absolutely adorable. "Stop staring at me." Bella mumbled on my chest. My face broke out in a huge smile.

"I like watching you sleep. You're beautiful." I said, nuzzling her. I felt like I could wake up like this every day and die a happy man.

"That sounds creepy." Bella rolled off of me, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "It's D-day." She groaned. I laughed at her term, I knew she was nervous about our talk with Jasper today and to be honest I was a little too, but I know it's going to work out just fine.

"You're being silly. Things will be fine Bella. Trust me." Rolling onto my side I pulled her back to me. When she gazed up at me I kissed her, wanting nothing more than to stay here in bed with her for the rest of the day. "Better?"

"Much. Thank you. We need to get ready to meet Jas."

We were both showered and in the kitchen drinking our coffee and each eating a bagel, Bella was pacing nervously as she ate, only stopping to take sips of her coffee. She was making me anxious. "Bella, stop. Relax baby. I told you earlier that everything was going to be fine. Why are you worrying so much?"

Thankfully she stopped pacing and took a seat on the bar stool. I could tell she was working through her thoughts so I waited. "I'm worried that he's going to hate me for all the shit I gave him over Alice when what I did was no better."

I had the tread carefully with this because if I said the wrong thing she'd no doubt freak and I couldn't have that. "Bella, look at me." She raised her head, eyes looking directly into mine before I uttered another word. "No matter what happens today with Jasper I want you to know that there is nothing about us that I regret. Even if I lose one of my best friends today, which I really don't think is going to happen, I couldn't be happier about how things have turned out. You're everything to me."

"Edward." I was now standing in front of her, her arms wrapped around my waist, but she got up off her bar stool and kissed me with so much passion I nearly dragged her off to her room, but we had to leave soon.

"You ready to go baby?"

"I guess." She groaned, but got up to retrieve her purse and coat so we could go.

Half an hour later we were standing in front of Jasper's door. I had just knocked and Bella was fidgeting beside me. I grabbed her hand in hopes that it would calm her.

"Bella, Edward. Come on in." We walked in and Jasper told us to take a seat while he got us some waters.

"It's going to be fine baby. Relax." I rubbed her thigh as we waited for Jasper to return. He finally did, setting our glasses on the coffee table.

"So what's going on?" He asked after a couple of minutes of silence. I looked at Bella and it was now or never so I started talking.

"Bella and I wanted to talk to you." Jasper raised an eyebrow at me, silently saying "no shit." I guess it was obvious since that's what we said the reason for the visit was when we talked to him earlier in the week. I looked nervously at Bella, wondering if she wanted to say it or if I should just do it. She took a deep breath and let it out.

"While we were together Edward and I shared a couple of less than innocent kisses. I have been feeling things for him for a while now, but didn't think we'd be good for each other so I fought it until we broke up. I also sang songs to him at Karaoke nights, I know it's a horrible thing for me to have done while we were dating, but it seems like I just couldn't stay away from him. I'm sorry Jasper, I didn't do it to hurt you, like I said, I was fighting my true feelings for a long time." She blurted out.

"I see." Was his only response. I could tell he was taking in what was just said, trying to figure out what to do with the information. "Well I can't say I'm surprised. I mean I know how you felt about her from the moment you saw her Edward, not that you ever told me until after we broke up, but a person would have to be blind not to see it. The songs you two sang at karaoke, I didn't want to think that you were singing to Edward Bella, but I always had a feeling, the words just never lined up with our relationship. I think I always knew you two were more right for each other than we were."

Bella's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of her head, I was a little shocked myself. I expected him to at least be a little mad at us.

"Looks like we both weren't honest with each other Bella. You forgave me for my part so I forgive you and Edward. I hope that you two are happy together, I really do. I can see the changes in both of you, you're happier, how can I be upset seeing my two friends in love?"

"Thank you Jasper. For what it's worth I hope you and Alice are happy too. I may not be talking to her right now, but…" Bella cut herself off, sniffling. Not talking to her best friend was obviously still hurting her. I wondered how much longer this was going to go on. If I had to guess I would say not too much longer.

"You should talk to her Bella. She misses you." Jasper said quietly.

"Yeah well she should have thought of that before she lied to me for months."

"Bella.." My words were cut off by Bella saying we needed to go. Jasper saw us to the door, we did the man half hug, pat on the back thing and said we'd talk later.

"That went better than I thought it would. Thank you for coming with me Edward, I wouldn't have been able to get through it without you. You're my rock." Bella told me as we stepped outside. I stopped her, turning her to face me before kissing her and hugging her to me tightly. The worst was over and we could all move on, I was looking forward to spending more time with Bella free from guilt and distractions. "We better get back to my place. I need to get ready for my set tonight."

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**A/N: There you have it. Everything is out in the open now and everyone can move on. Next chapter is going to skip forward a bit, I feel like we're moving a little slowly here. **

**As always thank you to those of you who review and if you leave something this chapter, you'll get a look at what's to come in chapter 16. **

**I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day and don't forget to check out the one shot I submitted in the** **One Shot Soundtrack Volume II contest starting February 25****th****. Vote for your favorite and once the contest is over I'll be posting my one shot on my profile page.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey guys, so here's the next chapter. I'm working hard on the next chapter of Infatuation, for those who read that story as well. I hope to have it up by early next week. This chapter is going to jump ahead a bit, just so we can move ahead a little bit further. **

**A couple of you have requested some information on Edward's family and background and there will be a little of that in this chapter, but there will be more coming soon; I have a plan, just stay with me.**

**I started a blog where you can keep up with things, get teasers (which will be different than the teasers I send out for reviews). Here's the link, just replace the (dot). http:/featherseverywhereff(dot)blogspot(dot)com/

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**EPOV**

The last month has been nothing short of amazing. Bella and I have spent all of our free time together. Her best friend Rose moved in with my best friend Emmett and they were ecstatically happy. They had a house warming party about a week ago and I was amazed how much Emmett's apartment had changed. What once was your ultimate bachelor pad turned into something homey and warm thanks to Rose. It wasn't girlie at all and you could tell that Rose took Emmett's tastes and wants into consideration when she redecorated their apartment.

Bella had yet to talk to Alice even though she and Jasper showed up to all the karaoke nights that were hosted by Bella and every performance she had at Requiems. The first night she saw Alice at Eclipse Bella was so mad that she sang One Republics "Apologize", Alice cried and ran out of the club that night and I thought for sure she wouldn't come back, but that little pixie was damn determined to get her friend back. I had a feeling that it wasn't going to be as easy as just showing up at Bella's shows to get them talking, but I wasn't going to be the one to push Bella. She'd talk to Alice again in her own time.

Bella and I hadn't moved beyond pleasuring the other with our hands, but I was fine with that. She said she wanted to wait until she was ready and I respected that. I haven't told her I love her yet and she hasn't said it either, but we were building our relationship. We still sang to each other at Eclipse and most of the time it was to tell her how I was feeling about her, but sometimes I just sang something to make her laugh. Emmett, Jas and I took to singing the most ridiculous songs together each week and every time we had the crowd on their feet. This week was no different. We were right in the middle of our song, "Walk This Way" by Run DMC and Aerosmith, you know the good version. Emmett was currently channeling Stephen Tyler as Jas and I did the Run DMC parts. The crowd was loving it, everyone was on their feet, dancing and singing along with us.

"_I was a highschool loser never made it with a lady  
till the boys told me something' I miss  
then my next door neighbor  
had a daughter, had a favour  
and I gave the girl a little kiss, like this_

Emmett made a scene with Rose as he bent down and kissed the shit out of her for a second before popping back up to sing the rest.

"_She start swingin' with the boys in the school,  
with your feet flyin' up in the air  
singin hey diddle diddle  
with a titty in the middle  
I was swingin' like I didn't care  
so I took a big chance at the highschool dance  
with the miss who was ready to play  
wasn't me she was foolin  
cause she knew what she was doin  
when she told me how to walk this way, she told me to_

Jasper and I broke in with the chorus, all while doing some ridiculous strut across the stage. You could barely hear us over the women screaming and whistling. I think someone even threw their panties at us and I somehow doubted it was any of our girlfriends.

"_walk this way, talk this way  
walk this way, talk this way  
she told me to  
walk this way, talk this way  
walk this way, talk this way_

Our girls were all gathered at the edge of the stage screaming louder than anyone as we neared the end of the song, they were throwing their hands up in the air and the guys and I each exchanged a glance; knowing what line was next then the three of us dropped in front of them before singing the next line.

"_just give me a kiss…..like this."_

At that point we each kissed our girls hungrily in front of everyone before getting back up to take in our applause. I think it was one of our best performances to date. Rose and Alice were already back at our table and Bella was getting ready for the next singer to come up. Jasper, Em and I all gave each other a pat on the back for kicking ass, and then they hopped down to sit with the girls. Rose and Alice were barely talking, but it seems their friendship was on the mend after what had happened. Bella wasn't exactly happy about it, but couldn't fault Rosalie for missing their friend. To be honest I think Bella was on the verge of cracking herself.

"You guys are seriously amazing. I can't believe that performance you just pulled off." Bella said once I had reached her. She gave me a fierce hug and an even hotter kiss then before now that we weren't in front of everyone. When she pulled away I groaned my displeasure. "I'm sorry. As much as I would _love_ to continue this I have to get back to work. If you want you can come over after and we can pick up where we left off."

"YES!" I yelled in excitement. "Why don't you come over to my place instead? It's closer."

Bella giggled and blushed all at the same time. "I love you." Her eyes suddenly widened, her mouth falling open.

"HEY, WHAT'S THE HOLD UP?" Some douche yelled from the crowd. Bella was obviously flustered and kept opening and closing her mouth like a fish, she was adorable. I kissed her quickly on the lips, because whether she meant to or not a confession of that magnitude called for a kiss on the lips. It may have been brief but it was searing.

"Get back to work. We'll talk later." Another kiss, this one lighter and I was back at my seat.

"Sorry about that, guys. Next up is Julian." Bella may have been freaking out on the inside but she hid it well, at least to me she did.

"What's with Bella?" Rose asked.

"Hmm? I don't know." I lied, I wasn't about to tell anyone what Bella said until we talked about it first.

"She looks like she's freaking out. Did something happen when you were with her Edward?"

"No, we just kissed a little." Rose raised her eyebrow at me, not buying the "little" comment. "Okay, a lot, we kissed a lot. Don't worry Rose, she's fine."

Alice decided to put in her two cents worth as well. "No, Rose is right. That look she has right there, she definitely freaking out, but trying not to show it. Normally I would just go back there and talk to her, but I don't think she'd like that too much right now. Rose, maybe you should go talk to her." Rose nodded and got up, heading over to Bella before I could say anything to stop her. "I'm going to use the ladies room. Be back in a few."

"Okay baby." Jasper told her, giving her a kiss before she left. Once she was out of earshot both of my friends turned their gaze on me. Jasper spoke first. "What's going on?"

"What are you talking about?" I took a rather large pull from my beer to hide the smile that threatened to come over my face.

"Don't give us that shit man. We don't have a lot of time here. What's going on? Bella's freaking out and you're sitting here acting like the cat that ate the canary."

"Who the fuck came up with that saying? Cat that ate the canary, I mean I get it, but dude that's just fucked up." Emmett slurred.

"Focus Emmett!" Jasper practically yelled. "Talk Edward!"

"You two are worse than the girls, I swear." They both just stared at me expectantly. "I have nothing to say. Oh, here comes Rosalie." Emmett's face lit up as Rose made her way back to the table, a smug expression on her face.

"Everything okay?" Emmett asked Rose once she sat down. She answered with a "mmmhmm", but just stared at me. I couldn't tell what she was thinking by the expression on her face though. Was she pissed at me, happy for her friend? I didn't know.

"Did you find out about what was bothering Bella?" Alice had just returned from the ladies room and sat on Jasper's lap.

Rose looked at me again, narrowing her eyes at me. "I sure did."

"Well? What's the problem?"

"It seems that Bella let the 'L' word slip and Edward didn't say anything." Now I had four pairs of eyes staring right at me and even though I didn't feel guilty about not saying anything, I squirmed in my seat. "Want to tell us what that was about Edward?"

"Not really." I finished off my beer and pour myself another glass.

"Oh no, you're going to tell us." Rose demanded.

"Uh, NO! I'm not!" Angela thankfully came over with the plate of appetizers we ordered and I dug in, filling my mouth with food while everyone else just sat there glaring at me. "Look guys, I know what it looks like, but I don't want to say anything until I've had a chance to talk to Bella, which I am doing tonight as soon as we're at my apartment. Okay? Can we drop it now?"

"Alice and Rose, you guys are up." Bella called from the stage. The girls got up to the stage quickly and the music started. Rose pulled Bella up on stage with them and they started a sexy as hell rendition of "Do You Wanna Touch Me" by Joan Jett. I don't know about Jasper and Emmett, but there was no way I could take my eyes off my girl. Damn she's hot.

"Holy Fuck! I am getting me some of that tonight." Emmett groaned from beside me.

"Fuck Yeah!" Jasper commented.

"Ungh." I groaned. My pants were getting increasingly more uncomfortable as Bella danced around and sang their song. They started rubbing up on each other, even Alice and Bella.

"Dude you sound like you just blew your load." Emmett snickered.

"Shut up!"

"Bella looks hot."

"Emmett, keep your eyes on your own woman and off mine." I practically growled.

"Would you two shut the fuck up, you're ruining this for me." At Jaspers outburst we both shut up and watched our girls sex it up on stage. The song was almost over but Bella had my full attention.

_Every girl an' boy  
Needs a little joy  
All you do is sit an' stare_

The girls dropped to their knees all at the same time.

_Beggin' on my knees  
Baby, won't you please  
Run your fingers through my hair_

_My, my, my  
Whiskey and Rye  
Don't it make you feel so fine  
Right or wrong  
Don't it turn you on  
Can't you see we're wastin' time, yeah_

_Do you wanna touch (Yeah)  
Do you wanna touch (Yeah)  
Do you wanna touch me there, where  
Do you wanna touch (Yeah)  
Do you wanna touch (Yeah)  
Do you wanna touch me there, where  
There, yeah_

The applause and whistling was deafening and I swear every guy was up at the stage trying to get closer to the girls. Emmett and Jasper noticed this too and we all stood up to go to them, claiming what was ours. We pushed through the throngs of people until we were standing at the edge of the stage. Alice and Rose jumped into Jasper and Em's arms, but Bella was already on the side gearing up for the next singer. I rushed over to her and grabbed her around her waist. She squealed in surprise as I breathed on her neck. "That was so fucking sexy."

"I'm glad you liked it."

"Oh I more than liked it Bella." I made sure to ground my hips into her backside to make sure she knew exactly what her little performance did to me. "Do you feel it, what you do to me?"

Bella whimpered but ground her delectable ass into my erection causing me to hiss.

"Fuck Bella."

"Edward." She whispered, grounding her ass into me again, if she didn't stop I was going to explode in my pants right here.

"Baby. We gotta stop."

"Yeah. Okay." My arms loosened around her and she turned in my arms. Her cheeks were flushed and I don't think it was from the singing. "Do you still want me to come over tonight?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Because of…because of what I said earlier. I thought…maybe I…I don't know..scared you away or something."

"Silly girl. You couldn't scare me away. We'll talk when we get to my place, okay. Don't worry about things." Bella nodded and kissed me soundly on the lips before pushing me away in the direction of my seat.

Emmett and Rose made a quick exit shortly after I returned and I kind of wished Jasper and Alice would do the same since Alice was on Jasper's lap and they were sucking each other's face off at the moment.

"You two need to get a room." Angela had come by clearing the plates and glasses off the table. I laughed since her words were in line with what I was just thinking. Thankfully Jasper and Alice broke apart and laughed at Angela's comment.

"Sorry Ang. I guess we just got a little carried away."

"It's okay Jasper. I have a feeling if I sang that song and danced like that in front of Ben he'd be all over me too."

"How is Ben?" I asked her.

"He's great. We're moving in together actually."

"That's great Ang. Are you moving into his place?" Alice asked way too excitedly if you ask me.

"Um no, actually we're getting a place together. His place is far too small and I have a roommate, so getting something else just makes more sense."

"Good for you Angela. I'm happy for you." I told her. Ben's a great guy and I know he and Angela are very happy together and have been for a while now.

"Thanks Edward. So is there anything else I can get you guys. It's last call."

We all replied with a no and Angela left to finish up her night.

"I think we're gonna go. You okay until Bella gets done?" Jasper asked. Alice was gathering her things as Jas stepped out of the booth.

"Yeah, I'm good. You guys have a good night."

"You too man. Tell Bella goodnight for us."

"I will." I sat and watched a few more people go up waiting for the night to end so I could get my girl back at my place and tell her how much I love her and then hopefully she'll let me show her.

**BPOV**

I cannot believe I actually blurted out that love him. How stupid am I? It's way too soon to say those three words, right? I mean it's only been a little over a month, but hell I knew I loved him after the first week. He's just that amazing. I freaked out as soon as the words spilled from my mouth and tried to hide it as I went on stage but I knew Rose would see it. She came back to talk to me not long after the next song came on.

"Bella, what's going on?" She said in a rush.

"I'm the stupidest person on the face of the earth Rose. God, why did I have to say that?" The tears were threatening to spill over, but I had to keep them at bay. There was no way I could break down right now. It would have to wait until I was home. Oh God, home, I'm supposed to be going over to his place tonight. Is he still going to want to do that? And if he does will he just wait until we're there to break my heart into a million pieces. Probably, Edward wouldn't destroy me in front of all these people. He'd do it in private so that I don't embarrass myself.

"Bella, what happened? Edward is out there smiling like a toddler who just got his favorite candy bar and you're back here freaking out. What the hell happened?"

"I told Edward I love him."

"What! That's great. What did he say? Oh, wait…what did he say B? I swear if he hurt you I'm going to go out there and kick is ass."

"Rose! He didn't say anything. I think he was in shock. I mean, shit, I said it and I'm in shock. It's too soon Rose, I shouldn't have said it. How do I fix this?" I was on the verge of hyperventilating at this point. I needed something, anything to calm me down.

"Hey, snap out of it. It's going to be fine. Edward doesn't look pissed or freaked out. This may be better than you think Bella." Rose was using her soothing voice; it's not something she brings out that often so I knew the situation had to be bad if she was bringing it out. "You're going to have to talk to him Bella. The words are out there, you can't take them back, so you're just going to have to deal with them." The song was coming near its end now and I needed to pull myself together.

"Yeah, I know. Thanks Rose."

"You okay?" She asked.

"Yeah. You go ahead and go back to Emmett. You and Alice are up next anyway."

Once she was gone I took a few deep cleansing breathes before I called Rose and Alice up on stage. They were singing "Do you wanna touch me" by Joan Jett and I just knew it was going to be a hit. When Rose pulled me up on stage with them I wasn't at all surprised, she did this regularly. I was trying to have a good time despite Alice being there and rubbing up on me, not to mention to stress of my confession to Edward weighing on me, but I managed to really get into the song. When I looked out into the crowd and saw Edward the look in his eyes had my panties soaking wet. He looked feral and hungry and he was staring at me.

The song ended and there were men lining the edge of the stage. I noticed the guys getting up and heading towards us, I went back to the machine and requests so the next performer could come up. I felt him enter and when he grabbed me around the waist I squealed. His hot breath was on my neck and I swear I almost came just from his words alone. He said we'd talk back at his place and I was relieved that he didn't seem at all weirded out by what I had said earlier, instead he was insanely turned on. I could feel the evidence of it on my ass. When he went back to the table I had to calm my breathing so I could finish the night and get home. If the conversation went well then I was positive that we'd take our relationship to the next level.

I came out at the end of the evening and Edward was sitting alone at the table, he was talking on the phone, which I found odd considering it was two in the morning. I hope it isn't an emergency at work because God help me we need to talk or I was going to explode.

"Okay dad. Talk to you later." He said as I approached. "Hey beautiful, you ready?"

"Yep." I grabbed his hand and we walked out into the cold night air to my car. "Were you talking to your dad?"

"Oh, yeah. He called to remind me about brunch on Sunday. Seems my mom was stressing out over it and wouldn't sleep until he talked to me." He chuckled then he just looked downright uncomfortable. "Um, I actually wanted to talk to you about that, among other things, but that can wait until we get home. Follow me back to my apartment, okay baby?"

"Mmhmm." My mind was working on overdrive. Was he going to invite me to brunch with his parents? That was huge, right, not something that someone does if they're about to break up with you. "I'll see you there."

The drive to his apartment was short and my mind was on everything that happened tonight. Edward's car pulled into a parking spot that I assumed was his assigned space and I found another spot close to his that was marked VISITOR, with another calming breath I turned off the car and got out. Edward was already at my door to help me out of the car. "Thank you."

"My pleasure beautiful. After you."

We walked side by side into his building and into the elevator up to his fifteenth floor apartment, neither of us uttering a single word. Once he had the door open he moved aside to let me in first. I hadn't been here before, for whatever reason we'd always ended up at my apartment. When the lights come on I gasped. The space is absolutely beautiful, warm and definitely masculine. With dark wood floors, taupe walls and beautiful artwork hanging on said walls. Right after we enter the apartment, the kitchen is directly to the right. It's decked out in all stainless steel appliances and dark grey granite countertops. The cabinets are stark white and pull the space together nicely. With the Viking range fit for a world class chef this kitchen is my dream come true. "Wow, Edward, this kitchen is beautiful."

"Thank you Bella. I hope you make yourself comfortable here. I would love to see you cooking in this kitchen." He says as he wraps his strong arms around me.

"Mmmm, I'd like that." His lips descend on my neck leaving hot, wet open mouthed kisses there and the feeling is pure heaven. I let out a small quiet moan but instead of continuing he stops and pulls away. I turn to look at him with what I hope is a cute pout; the smile on his face tells me that it is.

"If I didn't stop I never would have Bella." With his thumb and forefinger he tilts my chin up so he can capture my lips in a light kiss. "You're adorable when you pout, you know that?" Edward grabs my hand and pulls me towards the living room. The room is painted in the same color as the entry way, but instead of being boring, like I thought it would be it just makes the space feel comfortable. There is a large brick fireplace against the far wall, which I wasn't expecting in a high rise apartment building, and huge floor to ceiling windows alongside it framing the most magnificent view of the city. The mantle is a beautiful wood that matches the color on the hardwood floors. To my right I see a huge flat screen TV mounted on the wall along with a very intimidating looking entertainment center. I swear to you the man has everything you could imagine on that thing. A state of the art stereo, an Xbox 360, Playstation and a Wii as well as what I could only assume is a Blu-ray player seeing as he has top of the line…well everything.

Situated in the middle of the room, facing both the fireplace and TV is an L-shaped leather sofa in a rich brown color. To break up the brown he has a lush floor rug in blue. More artwork adorns his walls and on the mantle I can see pictures of him with other people, Jasper, Emmett and a photo of his parents, or at least I think it's both his parents, I recognize the blonde man next to the radiant woman who looks just like Edward. I walk slowly over to the pictures to take a closer look. I turn and silently ask Edward if it's alright that I look at his photos and he simply nods with a big beautiful smile on his face.

"I recognize your dad, is this your mom?" I ask, pointing to one of the pictures set in a big silver frame.

"It is." He says from right behind me. When did he come over here?

"She's beautiful. You have her eyes and her hair color."

"Thank you. She's uh…actually been bugging me to meet you."

"What?" I'm surprised by this. We haven't really talked much about his family, I mean yeah he told me about his childhood but he hasn't really said much about seeing his family lately.

"I spoke to her yesterday and she wants to meet the woman who's captured my heart and soul." I blushed at his words, could he possibly get any more perfect. "We don't have to do it now, obviously, but soon, I'd really like you to meet her. My dad of course already loves you."

"I only met him once and we weren't even together then, how could he possibly love me?"

"Well Bella, it only took one time meeting you for him to love you. He said you two had a very nice talk and he thinks you're wonderful."

I didn't know what to think, when I last talked to his dad I was with Jasper and I don't think I reacted that well to him telling me that I should be with Edward at the time. "Okay." I said, thinking that meeting his mom wasn't going to be so bad.

"Okay?" He asked.

"Okay, I'll meet your mom." I was suddenly lifted off my feet and being swung around the room.

"Thank you Bella. You're going to love her. I'll call her tomorrow and let her know. How's brunch on Sunday?"

He was so excited I couldn't help but smile at him and agreed Sunday was going to be just fine. The rest of the pictures on the mantel were mostly of him and his parents at his college graduation and he, Emmett and Jasper. Considering he had no siblings to speak of it was a given that Em and Jas took over the role of brothers for him. I noticed a really adorable picture of a miniature Edward with a blonde boy swimming together. "Who's this?"

He leaned in close to get a better look, but I had a feeling it was just to get closer to me since it was a picture of him in his house on his mantel. "That's my cousin Riley. My mom's sister, my aunt and her husband lived only a few blocks from us ever since I was a baby. Riley and I were more like best friends instead of cousins all throughout childhood."

"Do you see him a lot now?" He had never mentioned Riley before.

"Um, no. Riley died when he was thirteen, leukemia. It's what made me want to be a doctor actually. Seeing him go through that was really rough." He was so sad, it was clear that his cousin's death still had an effect on him. I wrapped my arms around him, trying my best to comfort him the best I could. "Thank you. You're amazing Bella, truly."

"I'm sorry to have brought it up. The last thing I ever want is to make you upset."

"It's okay. I knew once you saw that picture I was going to have to tell you." He took a deep breath against me. "Shall we continue with the tour?"

I didn't see any other rooms; Edward dragged me into his bedroom and had me pinned against the door before I could even get a look at the room.

"I want you Bella." His lips made a trail from my ear to my neck where he sucked and licked every inch of skin he could find. His hands found their way to the hem of my shirt and started lifting it. His lips broke away from my heated skin to remove the offending garment then went straight back to work. His hands started kneading my lace covered breasts and my back arched into his hands. "You like this, don't you baby?"

"Ugh."

"Wrap your legs around my waist baby. I need to feel you." I hopped up, doing as he asked and the feeling of his rock hard erection against my overheated pussy was indescribably. He ground himself into me and I mewled in pleasure. The man had me making sounds like a cat in heat. "I love the sounds you make Bella."

"Oh God Edward. Please." What was I asking for? I had no idea, but he seemed to know what my mind couldn't comprehend because he ground his hips into me again. My head slammed back into the wall with a loud thud but the slight pain just made it all the more intense. I was so turned on I thought I might explode. "Bed. Take me to the bed."

Edward's head snapped up to look at me, searching my eyes for something, probably wondering if I was sure about this and damn it I was ready. "Not yet baby. We still need to talk. We're not doing that" his head motioned to his very large bed "until we talk." He set me on my feet and slowly backed away, sitting on the edge of his bed. He patted the space beside him. "Come here."

I did as he asked and sat next to him, feeling exposed in just my jeans and bra. I'm sure I looked like a hot mess with my hair in disarray and my lips swollen. I turned to face him, ready to get this conversation over with. "I'm sorry about what I said back at Eclipse. I didn't mean to freak you out, but…" His finger pressed against my lips, effectively silencing me. My eyes found his as I waited for him to say something.

"Do I look freaked out right now?" I shook my head since his finger was still on my lips. "Good. Now, I should have said this as soon as you told me you loved me, but that wasn't possible at the time, so I am going to say it now and I want you to listen very closely to me, okay?" I nodded; my stomach feeling like it was tying itself in knots. "Ever since I laid eyes on you I knew you were the one for me. I was so, so stupid not talking to you right away and making you mine that very first night. I've had to endure you dating my best friend and during that time I just got to know you better and fell harder for you every day I was around you. The last month has been unbelievable and I wake up every single day with a smile on face because I know I have you and I've been dying to say this to you since the first week we were together but I was afraid of scaring you away, but not anymore. What I'm trying to say Bella is that I love you too. So much." I threw myself at him, attaching my mouth to his, tasting him and my hands immediately went to his shirt to remove it. Once it was gone I devoured every inch of newly exposed skin. God this man was going to be my undoing.

I licked a trail down his perfectly sculpted abs down to his belly button, where I swirled my tongue. As I enjoyed his skin my fingers unbuckled his belt, and with nimble fingers unbuttoned the fly on his pants and started tugging. Edward's hands were in my hair, holding me to him, but he got the idea when I started tugging and stood up so I could take his pants and boxer briefs off. His beautiful cock sprang up in front of me and I couldn't help it, I wanted it in my mouth, so I shot forward aligning my mouth with his dick then looked up at him through my lashes which caused him to groan and throw his head back. My tongue swirled around the head and then I licked from the base of his shaft to the tip before taking him fully in my mouth. "Oh fuck!" He gasped as I pumped him in and out of my mouth, with my hands taking hold of the base of him. All too soon he pulled away from me, pulling me up to my feet where he swiftly got rid of my jeans and panties in one smooth motion. Before I knew it he had me completely naked and sprawled across the bed, my legs bent and spread for him and my breasts bouncing from being lightly pushed down onto the mattress. I noticed his eyes take a long lascivious look at my naked form before coming back to my eyes. The emerald green in his eyes was darker now, and the look he gave me was predatory. Never in my life did I enjoy being the prey than I did right at this moment. "Are you sure about this Bella?" He asked as he lowered himself onto the bed beside me.

"God yes. I need you. Make love to me Edward." And that's all it took. He pulled a condom out of the side table, ripped the package and sheathed himself with it so quickly that if I blinked I was sure I would have missed it. Next thing I knew he plunged into me in one thrust. "Ohhhh!" I moaned when he was fully inside of me. He stayed put, letting me adjust to him. He was big, I already knew that, but the feeling of wholeness I now felt was almost too much. Almost.

"I'm sorry Bella. Just give me a moment. You feel incredible." I looked up at him and I could see the tendons in his neck straining as he tried to calm down enough to start moving within me. Edward slowly pulled out only to plunge back in slowly, I thought for sure if he didn't move I was going to scream, I needed more friction and I needed it now. "So good baby, oh god it's sooooo gooooooooodd."

His pace was slow for a while, looking deep into my eyes with his hands cradling my face. "You're so beautiful Bella." He said. Over and over he kissed every inch of my face, my eyelids, my forehead, my cheeks, nose, chin and finally my lips. His kisses were so sweet, so tender as he moved in me. I felt loved, so loved and I never wanted the feeling to end. His thumbs stroked my cheeks gently as he looked at me. I could feel every hard inch of him on top of me and instead of feeling trapped like I did ever since Jamie I felt warm and safe. Edward had become my security blanket and although the thought should scare the shit out of me I just felt free and a lot less broken.

Usually I felt unsure of what to do during sex, should I touch his face, scratch his back with my blunt finger nails, would he like that? As my hips moved in sync with Edwards I brought my hands to the side of his head pulling him to me. I leaned up a bit to capture his lips with mine. With him everything came easily, I knew what to do with my hands and my body to make him feel as good as he was making me feel.

Edward hitched my leg up around his hip, and the new position drew him deeper inside of me. He was hitting my g-spot and I thought for sure I was going to burst at the sheer ecstasy of it. "Right there baby….oooooh….Ed…waaaard. Don't stop. Don't stop. Don't stoooopppppp." My voice didn't sound like my own as he pounded into me, I was mewling like a cat in heat, which couldn't have been attractive, but at this moment I couldn't care less. Edward was doing things to my body that I never knew were even possible.

"Never, never….going…to…..stop" He pounded into me with renewed vigor and I could feel my head hitting the headboard as his thrusts pushed me further and further up the bed. Edwards hand went to the back of my neck, pulling me to him then kissed me as our bodies moved together, a thin sheen of sweat coating each of our bodies making his chest slide easily up mine and causing the most delicious friction on my hardened nipples. "FUCK Belllllllllaaaaaa….I'm gonna cum baby. I need you to cum with me."

The hand that wasn't holding onto the back of my neck slid down my body until it reached where we were connected and started rubbing my clit. "OOOOOHHHHHHH EDWAARRRRDDDDD!"

"Cum for me baby. Cum all around my cock. I need to feel it." That's all it took for my entire body to reach its climax and I exploded around him screaming his name and my orgasm triggered his because he started yelling out my name right then. "BELLLLLAAAA FUCK!" Edward thrust into me two more time before he stilled above me and then collapsed on top of my sweaty body.

"We should have been doing that the whole time." I panted into the crook of his neck.

"Mmmm, yeah. You're incredible Bella. I'm glad we waited. It was so worth it." Edward rolled off me, but wrapped his arms around my waist, bringing my limbless body with him. I was almost asleep listening to his heart beating since my head was pressed onto his chest, his breath fanning over my face. "I love you Bella."

"I love you." I whispered before falling asleep.

Light streaming in through the window woke me up the next morning. I stretched and felt the ache between my legs, bringing back the memory of what transpired last night. Edward and I had sex and my god was it amazing, I couldn't help the smile that took over my face.

"What are you smiling at beautiful?" Edward's rough voice came out next to me. I turned my head to look at him, his head was still on the pillow and he was clearly still waking up. Rolling over to my side so I could get a better view of the man I love laying next to me I ran my fingers through his hair.

"Just thinking about last night."

"And what exactly about last night were you thinking about to bring that bright beautiful smile on your face, love?"

"Well I was thinking about your lips…." He popped his head up at this and leaned forward to give me a kiss then I continued. "and I thought about your hands." His hands were then moving under the covers and placed on my hip.

"What else?" His voice was husky now and I could feel his erection poking me on my thigh so I nudged him a little with my leg. "Ungh, Bella." He closed his eyes and groaned.

"I was also thinking about this." I nudged him gently again with my thigh so there was no doubt in his mind what I was referring to. There would be no more talking for another hour after that as he flipped me on my back and recreated the events of last night.

After a quick shower in Edward's luxurious bathroom I went out into the kitchen to find him pulling two mugs out of the cabinet for us and judging by the smell wafting through the apartment he had made coffee.

"Would you like some coffee Bella?"

"God yes!" I practically moaned, just the thought of coffee was heaven. I heard Edward growl, yes growl, from the kitchen and before I could blink I was pinned up against the wall for the second time in just a few short hours. "Oh!" I squeaked.

"You can't say things like that and not expect me to react Bella. You know what the sound of you moaning does to me add to that those words and I have absolutely no self control." His hot breath was right at my ear and with his body pressed into me I could feel all six foot two of him and it turned me on, A LOT!

"Oh god!" My voice sounded weird, even to me and my entire body was on fire. Never in my life did I think I would be one of those women who couldn't get enough of another person, wanting to have them, claim them, devour them every second you were near each other, but damn it that's how I was feeling right now. I wanted Edward again, right here against this wall. I whimpered when he slowly let me go, but not before skimming his nose from my ear to my neck, which just made my skin erupt in goose bumps. Breathless, I asked him where he was going.

"As much as I would love to ravage you against this wall right now I have to get to work, but I promise you that I will make it up to you later my love." He kissed me in a scorching in a kiss that literally took my breath away, again; I'm surprised I'm still upright if I can be honest with you.

We drank our coffees chatted about what our plans were for today and then were out the door. He escorted me to my car and left me with another mind blowing kiss before I drove home. I was still in a daze by the time I got to my building and basically skipped all the way to my door.

"Well someone's happy." I looked up and saw Tay walking down the hall, her arms loaded up with boxes, being the good friend I am I ran over to help her. "Wait one second, aren't those the clothes you wore last night?" When I didn't answer, but merely blushed the color of a cherry tomato she continued. "OH MY GOD BELLA! YOU GOT LAID!" She screamed. "How was it?" I think at this point I must have been purple. "That good huh? I want every last detail. I'm coming over tonight after with margaritas and you are going to tell me everything. EEEEEEEE!"

"Tay! Calm down, alright. I am not going into detail about what Edward and I did _or didn't_ do last night."

"Bellll-aaaaaa! COME ON! I tell you all about the things Demetri and I do…"

"And I want to bleach my eyes with the imagery you put into my brain every time. NO! It's called over-sharing Tay and I do not intend to tell you anything about me and Edward."

"You're no fun. I'm still coming over tonight and will ply you with margaritas and you _will_ tell me everything B." Tanya never gave up easily, EVER! I had no doubt she would use every trick in her evil little bag to get me to talk. "I gotta run. See you in a little while B." I muttered a goodbye then got into my apartment.

Throughout the day Edward texted me telling me how much he missed me already and how much he loved me. I was truly happy and in love for the first time in a long time. Now all I had to worry about was brunch with Edward's parents.

* * *

**There you have it. I know a bunch of you were wondering when they were going to have sex and I hope that quenched your thirst a little.**

**Review and you'll get a teaser into next chapter. Thank you to everyone who is reading this story, I'm glad you're all enjoying it.**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: What's this? A new chapter of Singing Softly, have I died and this is all just some dream? No, I can assure you it isn't a dream, I actually overcame my long strenuous bout of writers block. I'm telling you between this, a month full of kid's commitments, and a temperamental 2 year old I really thought I would go insane. No, really, I was concerned for my own sanity at one point, but the month of June is almost over and July should be calm. Okay, enough chatter, I know you've all been waiting for this so here ya go.**

**Oh and I don't own Twilight or any of it's characters, although the thought of owning Edward takes me to my happy place, I really just like playing with Stephenie's phenomenal cast, so thank you for letting me do it.**

**BPOV**

The days leading up to Sunday Brunch with the Cullen's were stressful to say the very least. I was nervous as hell to meet my boyfriend's parents even though he assures me time and time again that I have nothing to worry about. "They'll love you, don't worry." This has been his mantra for the last couple of days, but it's not calming my ever growing nerves. Rose and Tanya dragged me out shopping so I could find a respectable outfit for brunch with my fuckhot boyfriend's _rich _parents (Tay's words, not mine). Imagine my surprise when I see Alice in the first shop we go into waiting for us.

"What is she doing here?" I hissed at Rose and Tanya.

"I invited her, get over it B. Once upon a time she was your best friend, you two need to kiss and make up already. You weren't exactly blameless in this whole mess you know." This is what I expect from Rose, to not sugarcoating anything, but _really_? She knows how much what Alice did hurt me and unfortunately for her what I usually find endearing just pissed me off.

"And maybe you need to keep your mouth shut Rose. _IF_ I decide to forgive her, and that's a big IF, then I will do so in my own time, you can't force it. I am still hurt by what she did. She knew she was dating _my_ Jasper for months and…"

"I KNOW! Geez, I was just hoping you two could make up already. This splitting my time between you two, doing things with one and not the other is really hard B. I just want my girls back to normal. Is that such a horrible thing?"

"No, it's not Rose. I want that too." Alice was suddenly next to Rose with her arms open inviting her in for a hug; Rose immediately went to her, my lips set in a firm line as they hugged each other. I had no idea this rift between Alice and I was causing Rose so much heartache, but I thought she was on my side with this and understood my reluctance to be friends with Alice again. I felt instantly bad, but not bad enough to make up with Alice, what she did was reprehensible. You just don't do that to a friend. "Bella, I know I hurt you with what I did and I realize you may never forgive me, but" Alice was nervously ringing her hands together, her eyes watering but locked on me. "but, I'm never going to stop being your friend, no matter how much you may hate me and push me away."

"Alice, come on don't cry." My heart went out to her as she embraced Rose, both of them now sobbing uncontrollably. "I'm working on it Ali. Yes, you did hurt me going behind my back like that, you should have told me about your feelings for him, you knew I was having feelings for Edward, that should have helped push you to tell me about you and Jas, but instead you went behind my back. Give me a little more time, okay?" Alice nodded her head, her sobs slowing as she calmed down.

"Good, now that we have all the emotional shit out of the way let's find B here something to wear to brunch with millionaires, shall we?" Tanya grabbed my wrist and dragged me to a rack of dresses that caught her eye.

It took all day, but I did eventually find a nice dress, suitable enough for dining with Dr. and Mrs. Cullen. I tried my hardest to not let Alice's betrayal seep its way into my thoughts the whole time and Rose told me later that she appreciated my effort, so I knew I did good. I may not be ready to forgive her yet but at least I know I can be calm and cool around her if I so happen to be in her presence.

I was just hanging up my new dress when my cell phone rang, which was of course all the way in the kitchen so I had to run to get it.

"Hello." I said breathlessly.

"Should I be concerned that my girlfriend just answered the phone and she's out of breath?" Such a smartass.

"You should be _very_ concerned Dr. Cullen."

"And what exactly were you doing to get you so breathless Bella?"

"Oh you know, my other boyfriend came over and I was having my wicked way with him until you so rudely interrupted." I said jokingly. I knew this was iffy as far as Edward was concerned because the man is possessive, not that I mind of course, I actually find it kind of adorable…okay maybe a lot adorable.

"Bellllla." He growled. Dear God I love it when he growls, it's so fucking sexy.

"Hmm?" I responded like there was absolutely nothing wrong.

"There better not be another guy over there unless it's Jacob or Paul, otherwise I'm coming right over, ripping his arms off and beating him with them." I giggled, because really, it's too funny not to.

"Like I would want anyone but you Edward."

"Now that's more like it. So beautiful, what did you do today? I've missed you." He's so damn sweet.

"I went shopping with Tay, Rose and Alice. Found a dress for brunch with your parents." I told him. He was quiet for a few minutes, probably wondering if he had actually heard me say I went shopping with Alice.

"Soooo…how did that go?" I knew he was asking about the Alice situation and not if I found a dress.

"Fine I guess. I was pissed when I saw her when we got to the mall. Seems Rose set me up so Alice and I would be buddy, buddy again. I tried to be pleasant to her the whole time, but…."

"But, what baby?" He pressed since my thoughts had trailed off. To be honest I don't really know what the "but" was about.

"I don't know. She was nice, apologized again for what happened, but I just feel like every time I see her or hear her name everything she did just comes flooding back, but all I get from her or anyone else is that she's sorry and no-one seems to get my point that if she had just _told_ me then she could have had him without all this drama." I took a breath, listening to Edward's steady breaths on the other end of the phone. "I guess I'm just tired of going through it all again and again. I would love to just say I'm over it and move on, ya know?"

"So why don't you? I know you miss your friend Bella. And before you try to tell me that it's not true I know it is. You talk in your sleep, remember?" I groaned hiding my face in my hands, he was right, as I've come to learn he usually is, I do miss Alice, but for whatever reason I just can't seem to move past this. "Baby, please, you need to get over this, not for Rose or anyone else, but for you. You're miserable and as much as I try to keep you distracted with my powers of seduction there's only so much I can do." He deadpanned, causing me to break out in laughter. He was right about one thing though, he definitely had super powers of seduction. "Bella, your hysterics are wounding my ego a little bit here. Do I need to come over and _show_ you just how much I can distract you with my sexiness? 'Cause I will missy."

"You're too damn cute for your own good, you know that?"

"Nah, I just like to hear your laugh, it makes me all warm inside."

"Such a sap."

"You love it, admit it."

"You're right, I do. So what time are you picking me up for brunch?" I asked. Sunday was only a couple of days away and we had yet to talk about it.

"I was thinking about that actually and…" He trailed off, seemingly thinking about something. Before I could freak myself out he continued. "I was hoping to take you out Saturday night, since you don't have to sing at Requiems, what do you think?"

"I think that sounds perfect Edward." We hadn't spent any real alone time together in a few days and I had to admit that I needed him, badly. You would think that someone with my past wouldn't feel like such a sex fiend, but come on have you seen Edward? The man is sex on legs, no joke, how could I possibly not want to be with him all the time?

"Yeah?" If I didn't know any better he sounded surprised, but I knew that couldn't be the case, he was the most confident self-assured man I've ever met.

"Of course. Like I'd say no to spending time with you."

"Glad to hear it. Crap, baby I gotta go, they're calling me in. I'll talk to you tonight, alright?" I could hear his name being called through the line so I knew he needed to go right away.

"Okay, Love you."

"Love you too Bella, so much." We hung up at the same time after that and I was left with my thoughts. A song was lingering in my mind and since I had nothing else to do I decided to sit down and write it out. That took me the rest of the afternoon, but the song was sounding really good so far. It still needed more work, but it was getting late and my stomach was grumbling. I went to my drawer that held the take-out menus, because there was no way I was cooking anything after working all day. I was deciding between Chinese and Pizza when my buzzer rang, I wasn't expecting anyone so I chose to ignore it; maybe they had the wrong apartment.

"Saucy, cheesey goodness, or kung pao…" _Bzzzzzz_. "Damn-it!" I stomped angrily over to my intercom to see who was bothering me. "Hello?"

"Bella? Can you let me in?" What the hell?

"Uh….sure." I answered then pushed the button to let my visitor in. I wondered what he could possibly want. A quick knock on my door echoed throughout my quiet apartment. I opened the door, wanting to get whatever this was over with so I could go back to ordering my dinner. "Hey?" It came out more like a question because I had no idea what he was doing here.

"Bella, can I come in? I need to talk to you." I nodded and moved to the side to let him in. He went directly to my sofa and sat down; running his hands through is hair.

"What's going on Jasper?"

"It's…its Alice. She broke up with me." All I could do was stare at him with my mouth wide open, in shock of what he had just said.

"I was just about to order some Chinese, do you want something? Maybe a beer too?" Jasper just nodded, with his head still in his hands. He looked so broken and my heart ached for him. I didn't know why Alice had broken things off with him, but I knew with the way they felt about each other that they'd get back together.

After ordering the food I returned to my living room with two bottles of beer. I handed Jasper his and drank half of mine in one gulp as I waited for him to say something, but he just sat there, pulling at his hair and I could swear I heard him sniffling. I rubbed his back with soothing circles while I waited him out; I was waiting a long time. The food came before he said anything.

"Thank you. Have a good night." I told the delivery man then brought the food into the living room and dug in.

"Thanks Bella." Jasper dug into the food, grunting his approval while I just watched him and continued eating my dinner. When we were done I had had enough of the silence, we had been sitting here for half an hour and all I've gotten out of him is that Alice broke up with him and I was getting tired.

"Jasper, tell me what happened."

Jasper took a resigned breath and sat up straight. "She came over after you all came back from shopping today, she was so upset. When I asked her what happened she said that she couldn't do this anymore. She told me she missed you and that no man has ever come between her and her friends before and it was wrong of her to let me come between you two in the first place." He shook his head as he tried to reign in his emotions.

"Oh Jas. I'm so sorry."

"What am I going to do Bella?"

"I don't know. Did she say anything else?"

"She said that if she had any chance at all of saving her friendship with you than the only thing she could do was end our relationship." Ugh Alice! Why do you have to play that martyr?

"Jasper, I'm sorry. I'll talk to her okay? All this will get resolved, and you'll have your Alice back, don't worry."

"Thank you Bella. I guess I should go, I'm so sorry for ruining your night, I'm sure you had more important things to do than console me."

"Don't be silly, you're my friend Jasper and that's what friends are for." Jasper was almost at the door with me close behind him, he stopped with his hand on the door knob and turned around to face me. Before I could ask what he needed he enveloped me in his arms.

"Thank you Bella." I told him I'd call Alice and talk to him later and then he was gone. It was almost 1 am and I just realized I never got to talk to Edward and started to worry, he usually called when he said he was going to, I suppose it's possible with Jasper here that I missed his call.

"Where's my damn phone?" After searching my entire apartment I found it in the cushions of the sofa and the battery was dead. "Well shit." I plugged the phone into the charger and cleaned up. I guess I would have to call Edward tomorrow, I'm sure at this point he's asleep anyway.

_BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ_, what the hell? I wondered if Jasper forgot something. I didn't see anything lying out that was obvious so I went to answer the intercom.

"Did you forget something?" I asked, amused at his forgetfulness.

"Yeah, I forgot to get a kiss from my beautiful girlfriend today and I spent all day thinking about it." This man makes me swoon. Seriously, what was wrong with me, I'm like some love sick puppy.

"Well I'm happy that you remembered to come get it, even if it is 1 am. Come on up." It seemed like forever until Edward finally knocked on my door, but in reality I'm sure it was only a minute.

I threw the door open just as Edward's hand was in the air ready to knock. There were no words spoken as he rushed into my apartment, slamming the door with his foot and pushing me with his body into the wall as he devoured my mouth with his. It was damn hot. He had me pinned between his hard body and the cold wall, his leg in between mine just holding me where he wanted me. I could feel his cock hardening in between us and I could help the moan that escaped me. Edward's hand started to roam on my overheated body as I was held there, unable to move.

When his lips moved to my jaw and up to my ear I was panting like I had run a damn marathon. "Edward, oh God." I moaned.

"I've missed you baby. Did you miss me?" He whispered into my ear, his hot breath on my ear causing me to shiver.

"Yessss!" I hissed as his tongue licked my neck. "Bedroom."

Edward wrapped my legs around his waist and I held onto him like my life depended on it. He swiftly removed my tank top as we made our way into my room and once he tossed me on my bed his lips traveled down my torso stopping to lick and suck various places as I squirmed underneath him. He was driving me insane and let me tell you I loved every second of it. My hips lifted, seemingly on their own when the pressure of Edwards hands were felt and he took advantage by pulling down my yoga pants and underwear at the same time leaving me bare and needy for him.

"Mmm, Bella, you're so wet for me baby."

"Only for you Edward, only you do this to me." His lips and hands moved in tandem, caressing my leg from my ankle to my thigh the repeated the action on the other leg. "Holy shit!" I whimpered, I wasn't sure how much more teasing I could take; I needed him to be in me, NOW. "Edwarrrrrd, stop teasing me baby. I need to feel you." I felt his lips turn up into his signature smirk. I don't know how I'd missed it, but as he crawled up my body all I felt was skin, he had somehow removed his clothing without me noticing, this is what Edward does to me, he puts my mind in a lust filled fog.

"I love it when you say dirty things to me baby. Can you tell me what you want me to do to you?" He whispered in my ear, the heat of his breath doing delicious things to my body. My only coherent thought was "in me, now" but I knew that's not what he wanted to hear. I tried as hard as I could to come up with something wickedly dirty that would turn him on so much that he'd just have to take me right then.

Inspiration struck and I came up with the dirtiest thing I could think of. "Edward" I moaned, just to get things started. His fingers were playing at my entrance, teasing and tickling me. "First I want your fingers to fuck me until I'm screaming your name in ecstasy." Edward groaned, I could feel his cock harden on my thigh so I knew my words were having the effect that I intended. "Then before I've had a chance to come down from my high I want you to plunge that hard as steel cock inside my throbbing pussy." I made sure to nudge said cock to make my point. The growl that came from my man was so fucking sexy I almost came right there.

"FUCK Bella. That was….." He didn't need to finish that sentence, I knew what my words did to him, I could feel it for Christ's sake. His long beautiful fingers entered my pussy and fucked me just like I said I wanted to, all the while his mouth was on mine, his tongue doing the same thing to my mouth that his fingers were doing to my pussy.

I moaned into his mouth and I could feel my climax building as he continuously hit my g-spot. "Is this what you wanted Bella?" Edward didn't let me respond to his question but I like to think my body answered for me as I fell over the precipice.

Before I could regulate my breathing Edward plunged into me, moving slowly, making my orgasm continue. "Holy shit Bella, I can feel you pulsing around my cock. It feels so goooood. Ahhhhh." His movements sped up a bit causing my breath to catch in my throat. He felt so good moving inside me, I could already feel my second orgasm building.

"OH, Edward. Mmmmm baby."

"You like that Bella? You like feeling my hard cock slipping in and out of you?" I rocked my hips to meet his in response to his words.

"Fuck yes Edward. FUCK!" I screamed out.

Our bodies were now slick with sweat as we glided against each other. His sparse chest hair rubbing against my bare nipples just increased the intensity of the feelings he was causing in my body. When his tongue licked my collarbone I came undone, writhing underneath him. "Yes! Edward, oh yes…right there…don't…fucking…stoooooooop."

"Uuuuggghhh, Fuck Bella. I'm gonna cum….oh…oooh…ooooooohhhh." Edward collapsed on top of me as we both tried to calm our breathing. I kissed his temple and scratched his back as he lay atop me. I loved it when he did this, feeling his weight on me after a round of lovemaking, it made me feel safe and secure.

"Stay with me tonight?" I asked him, it was late and I didn't want him leaving after what we just did. I could tell he was tired too.

"I'd like to see anyone try and get me to leave you Bella." He rolled off of me onto his side, pulling me with him and cradling my head into his chest. I placed a gently kiss where I could feel his heart beating then drifted off to sleep.

"_Can't read my, can't read my, no you can't read my poker face."_ UGH! Its way too fucking early for Gaga. I slapped the alarm but the damn sound just kept playing.

"Bella, why are you hitting me baby?" Edward asked with a groggy chuckle. I opened one eye and noticed my hand on his forehead. My face broke out in a smile at the sight of him. God he's beautiful.

"Sorry. I was wondering why my alarm clock suddenly felt silky and soft." Since my hand was near his hair I took the opportunity to run my fingers through it, it was one of my favorite things to do. Edward's eyes closed and I swear he started purring, truth be told it was one of his favorite thing too.

"Mmm, that feels so good baby." Hearing his moans was making me wet, but I knew he had to go soon, so there'd be no lovin for me this morning, the thought made me a little sad. "What's with the pouty lip?" He asked. My hand stopped and I pulled it free from his hair, which right now looked exactly like sex hair. God help me.

A sigh slipped from my lips as I thought about what to tell him. Oh hell, I might as well be truthful. "I was thinking that the sounds you were making were making me horny." I felt more than heard the growl vibrate in his chest.

"And that makes you upset becauuuuse?" His hands caressed my bare back as he waited for me to respond.

"Because you have to leave soon." I whined at him, my bottom lip protruding out again, he surprised me by leaning forward and biting it lightly and pulling back.

"I think I have some time, I am my own boss after all." I lit up like a Christmas tree at this. Would he really stay here with me for a little longer? "Yeah, I definitely have some time to fuck you before I go." He flipped me onto my back and true to his word he fucked me senseless before kissing my forehead and leaving me for the day.

Sooner than I would have liked Sunday was here. Edward and I had a nice romantic dinner the night before then came home to watch a movie by the fire in my living room. He held me in his arms, caressing my arm as we watched _The Bourne Identity_. Soon after it was over we cleaned up our drinks and popcorn mess and went to be where we made love well into the early morning. I fell into a blissful sleep, completely sated in the arms of the man I love.

Presently I was in the bathroom, with my robe on putting the finishing touches on my hair and make-up while Edward was in my room getting dressed, damn travesty if you ask me, that man should never wear clothes again. Rose had helped me when we went shopping to come up with a style that was easy for me to do and sexy, but not too sexy to meet your boyfriend's parents. Tanya, with a little help from the make-up artist at MAC, helped me get my make-up just right. When the last swipe of mascara was applied I took a good look at the girl in the mirror and I have to say that girl looked good, like me only more put together. Normally I like to opt for the natural look, but I was going to a mansion for crying out loud, what better time to go the extra mile. "Wow, Bella, you look…..breathtaking. I may just have to keep you to myself today." I could feel the heat rising on my cheeks at Edward's compliment, and yeah the thought of cancelling on his parents to spend all day in bed didn't sound like a bad idea at all, but I knew we couldn't do that.

"Don't tempt me Edward. I didn't spend a good hour getting myself to look like this just so you could ravish me." He got that sexy smirk on his face that I adore and I smiled at him. He knew damn well that I'd rather stay here with him.

"Everything is going to be fine baby. I've told you how many times that my parents are going to love you? Don't you trust me?" The smirk turned into an adorable pout and it made me want to kiss him until we were both breathless. "Get dressed; we need to leave in twenty minutes." He kissed my temple and went out in the living room to wait for me.

Fifteen minutes later my new dress was on along with the shoes we had purchased to go with it, I walked out into the living room to let Edward know I was ready. He was sitting on the sofa watching a baseball game, but he must have sensed me because he turned his head to look at me when I entered the room. The smile that lit up his face made my breath hitch, he really is beautiful. "Bella." He whispered, smoothly getting off the couch to make his way to me. I was able to take in the sight of him, to really look at him and the man could be on the cover of GQ. He was wearing a pair of black slacks that hugged him in all the right places and believe me I looked at all those places, I may have been drooling as I ogled him. He had on a green button up shirt with two buttons at the top opened, revealing his light spatter of hair on his chest. The sleeves were rolled up to just below his elbows showing off his magnificent forearms. His hair was in his usual I've-just-thoroughly-fucked-my-girlfriend mess that made my girly bits tingle in anticipation. _Down girl. We are not getting any sexy time right now, you need to be patient._ Great, now I'm talking to my vagina, that's a sign of going insane, right? "If I thought you looked breathtaking before in just that robe, you in that dress…" He shook his head, pulled me in his arms and started kissing my lips with a fierceness that nearly had me ripping his clothes off right there. Our kisses slowed and he put a little distance between us, his hand grabbed mine and without another word spoken we were out the door and in his car.

Edward hooked up his iPod in the car and soft soothing songs filled the car, it was relaxing, which I'm fairly certain was his intention. _Sparks by Coldplay_ came on and I started singing along with Chris Martin, this is one of my favorite songs. I noticed Edward looking at me more than once with a huge smile on his face as I sang the song. "What?" I asked him, no longer able to not know what he was thinking.

"You really have a beautiful voice Bella." My trademark blush made another appearance; I thanked him for the compliment and went back to singing the song. We talked a little more about inconsequential things as we drove, trying to keep things light and before I knew it we were pulling up to a house that I could only describe as stunning.

"Oh my…Edward!" I was in awe of this place. It was huge, nothing like what I had been used to growing up in a small town. Despite its obvious beauty I didn't feel intimidated at all, it felt welcoming and we were only in the driveway. The house looked like something you'd see celebrities owning in the Hamptons, with wood siding, white window frames everywhere that I'm sure let in light to every square inch of this house. The driveway was paved in cobblestone, reminiscent of the streets in Tuscany, not that I've been to Tuscany, but you know, I've seen pictures. Edward's mother either had a green thumb or a fantastic landscaper, because the trees, bushes and flowers that surrounded just the front of the house was a sight to behold. You could tell that someone took pride in caring for these plants and this was just the front of the house, I couldn't wait to see the backyard. "You grew up here?"

"For a little while, yes. Come on, I can see my mom in the front window waiting to pounce." I swallowed the lump in my throat, this was it, I was finally meeting Edward's parents. _Dear God, I know I don't talk to you much but I promise that if you make today go well I'll be indebted to you. Amen_. Edward was at my door, holding out his hand to help me out, I took a deep breath and took it and got out of the car. He held onto my hand as we walked the short distance to the front door. It swung open and a petite woman came running out squealing "My Baby" straight for us. Edward didn't let go of my hand as the woman hugged him as tight as she could. "Hi mom."

"Edward! You look good son." She pulled back from him and turned her gaze to me. She looked happy and she was beautiful, like anyone who gave birth to the hotness that is Edward could be anything but beautiful. I could see where Edward got his unique hair color; his mother's was exactly the same shade. It fell in soft waves around her face. Her delicate features made her look like she could be Edward's sister, not his mother. "And you must be Bella. It's nice to finally meet the woman who has stolen my son's heart." I held out my hand to shake hers but she swatted it away like it was insulting and enveloped me in a hug.

"It's lovely to meet you Mrs. Cullen."

"Oh, please dear call me Esme. Mrs. Cullen makes me feel ancient. Now let's get inside, Carlisle is getting drinks ready." Mr. Cullen, or Carlisle as he insisted I call him, was in the living room already when we entered. He gave me an equally exuberant hug as his wife did and all the fears and anxiety I had been feeling since Edward told me about this brunch melted away. These people were so welcoming and genuinely happy that I was here with their son, I felt silly for being so nervous. "So Bella, Edward tells us you're a musician. What instrument do you play?" We were seated on the sofa, drinks in hand and chatting.

"Well, I actually play the guitar and the piano as well as sing." I didn't like talking about myself that much, but I knew it was necessary in this instance.

"Oh, have you heard Edward on the piano, he's quite good. We thought for sure he was going to be a music major growing up, but he surprised us by following in his father's footsteps and going into medicine. Edward tells us that you run the karaoke night at a bar as well as play at your friends club on the weekend, which sounds very exciting."

"Yes, it is, although I do have a case of stage fright whenever I perform my own stuff, being in the spotlight really isn't my thing. I also teach piano and guitar a couple times a week."

Edward smiled at me and squeezed my hand helping me to stay grounded. "You'd never know she has stage fright by listening to her, she's amazing. I keep telling her she should seek out an agent and try her hand at singing professionally, but she won't hear of it."

Carlisle spoke up next and floored me with his comment. "Bella, I've heard you sing at the karaoke night and you really do have a lovely voice. I know some people in the music industry and could forward something on to them if you decide you want to try and do this professionally. If you're as good at playing instruments and songwriting as Edwards says then I'm sure you'll have no trouble getting a record deal. My son is very picky when it comes to music."

"Thank you Carlisle." We sat down to brunch soon after our talks of my music. Esme was excited when I invited them to come see me sing at Requiems the following weekend. I had something special planned for Edward that night, but I didn't mind if his parents were there for it. They'd know how much their son meant to me and that couldn't be bad. Esme laid out quite the spread, eggs, bacon, sausage, French toast, tomato bisque, vegetable frittata, not to mention a fresh roast beef. I felt like I was at one of those restaurants that have the all you can eat buffets. You'd think the woman was feeding an army. "Esme always makes too much food; we usually end up feeding the workers around the house as well as us when she does this." Carlisle explained when my eyes popped open at the sight of all the food in front of us.

**EPOV**

My mom had really gone all out for brunch today. When Bella's eyes bulged out of her head when she saw the spread on the table it was comical, I couldn't help but laugh at her expression. I was just glad that the leftovers never went to waste. My parents may be wealthy, but aside from their house and cars you'd never know it. They were constantly giving to charities and to the people they love, and that included the people that helped run the house. My father wasn't kidding when he said he had connections in the music business, in fact I think he downplayed it a bit, not to overwhelm Bella. Carlisle has treated some really famous people and their loved ones on numerous occasions, he's world renowned, the best of the best in his field, so people come from all around the world seeking his help. I had thought about calling him for help many times, but thought better of it. All it would take is one phone call and my dad could have someone down at Requiems to hear Bella play and the rest as they say would be history.

Do I worry about her going off on some world tour and that would be the end of us, of course I do, especially this early in our relationship, but I want what's best for Bella, if that happens to be a music career that takes her away from me then so be it. Her happiness would be my happiness, but she doesn't want to do it and I'm not going to push.

My mother and father both beg Bella to play the piano for them, the one in the great room, my piano, she agrees and starts playing a beautiful melody. She begins to sing and the rest of the world fades away, like it usually does whenever I watch her. I recognize the tune as she starts singing and although it's nothing like the original, it's Bella and she owns that damn song. Katy Perry has nothing on her. My parents are both just sitting there watching her play, tears are running down my mother's face and my father honestly just looks awestruck. When Bella plays the last chords of the song my mother is practically sobbing only she has a smile on her face.

"Oh Bella, that was absolutely beautiful. Did you write that?" My mother asks, ever clueless about recent music. Bella smiles at me and I give her a wink and smile right back.

"No, that was by Katy Perry, it's one of my favorite songs to play."

"I've never heard that song before Bella, but I am most certain that you played it better then Miss Perry." The two women hugged while my father just kept looking at Bella like she was the second coming. When he opened his mouth I immediately wanted him to shut it right back up, I tried silently to tell him not to go down this path, but apparently he wasn't getting the message.

"Bella, I believe that you really have a gift and I think you should let me make a phone call, you should be singing in front of a packed stadium. That was incredible." Bella blushed.

"Thank you Carlisle, really, but…I can't. If you'll excuse me, I need to use the restroom." I heard the door to the bathroom close before I said anything.

"Dad, what the hell?"

"Edward, don't speak to your father that way."

"What?" He asked, completely clueless.

"She has severe stage fright; just the thought of going up on stage in front of that many people practically causes a nervous breakdown. Please, please don't say anything else about calling in your contacts unless she asks for it. Okay?"

His face fell and I instantly felt bad. He was just trying to help Bella, I knew that, but the look on her face, it was a look of pure terror. I'm not quite sure what causes that reaction in her and I hope to hell that she gets over it because she's amazing when she's performing. "I'm sorry dad; it's just that I don't like to see her hurt."

"You love her, don't you Edward?" My mother asked.

"Very much." I answered immediately.

"Does she know?"

"Yes, I know and I love him too." I felt Bella's arms wrap around me from behind. For the second time today my mother squealed, I'd never seen her do this and frankly it scared me a little.

The rest of the visit was filled with my mother pulling out embarrassing photos of me from my childhood and my father telling stories about my growing up. It wasn't my favorite part of the day.

"…so Edward asked if he could have a baby sister someday too. We told him maybe, and then he asked if mommy was going to have seven babies just like Penelope." Laughter ensued at this. Penelope was my cat and when she had a litter of kittens I asked my parents for a sister. I was only four at the time, obviously too young to comprehend that people don't have litters of children, unless you're octomom, but that shit just isn't right. My parents were actively trying to have another baby at the time, but my mother had a string of miscarriages over the next couple of years. They finally gave up trying, saying I was meant to be an only child. I still wish I had a brother or sister. Looking into my future now, I see Bella and I married with a handful of kids.

On the way home the atmosphere was a lot different from the last time we were in the car. Bella was a lot more carefree and happy. Music from my iPod is blasting from the speakers as Bella dances in her seat giving me quite a show of her breasts bouncing up and down. To be honest it's really distracting me from the road. "Belllaa." I groan, she stops suddenly looking at me no doubt wondering what my problem is. "You need to stop bouncing like that, it's very…distracting." She giggles, fucking giggles at me then her eyes move down to my crotch and the giggles turn into full out laughter, I don't think it's funny. I'll show her just how funny it is. I grab her hand and place it on my now aching cock. "You think this is funny baby? You're sitting there bouncing up and down and singing and those beautiful tits of yours are jiggling around, do you see what you do to me?" Her laughter has stopped and she is now flushed, I can tell she's just as worked up as I am at this point. She gives my dick a little squeeze as I search frantically for the next available rest stop, thankfully I see one only 2 miles away. I sincerely hope we can make it that long.

"God, Edward. You are so fucking hot." Bella's seat belt is now unbuckled and my dirty little sex kitten is leaning over the console and nibbling on my neck and ear. Her hand, still on my cock, begins fumbling with the buttons on my jeans and her warm hand is now inside my boxers stroking me and I almost run us off the damn road. The need for release is driving me to go faster, I see the off ramp maybe a hundred feet away then I hear the sirens and see the flashing lights behind me. Bella stiffens and quickly gets back in her seat and I pull over to the side of the freeway.

"Shit." My once painfully hard dick is now flaccid, but my fucking balls ache from the excitement and now let down of not getting a release. Bella's in her seat lightly giggling and yeah I guess this is somewhat funny, but now is really not the time. "Baby, please. This isn't funny."

The officer knocks on the window, so I roll it down to talk to him. "License and registration." He says gruffly. I give him the requested information and just wait silently for him to say something. "Do you know how fast you were going Mr. Cullen?"

"Uh…" _I really have no idea, sir, I was just trying to get to the rest stop so I could fuck my girlfriend_. Somehow, I don't think that would have gone over to well. I see him staring at my open fly and his lips are in a tight line as he figures out exactly what was happening in this car.

"Well I'll tell you how fast you were going Mr. Cullen; you were going 105 miles an hour in a 65 mile an hour zone. I could have you arrested. Now do you mind tell me what had you in such a hurry?" He glances over at Bella then my open fly before he looks back at me; he knows exactly what had me going so fast.

"Officer, I'm sorry it was all my fault. You see, it's that time of the month for me and I'm afraid that it just started and I was unprepared, if you get my drift, so my loving boyfriend here was trying to make it to the restrooms at the rest stop so I could take care of things." Bella bats her eyelashes at the officer and when I look at him his expression matches mine, except I think his mouth is hanging open because he really didn't need to hear that, where as I am just in shock at what just came out of Bella's mouth. This is something I really never needed to hear about, fake or not.

"Uh-huh. Well then I am going to let you go with a warning for now, but please try to keep it at the speed limit next time son, otherwise I won't be so lenient."

"Yes sir, thank you." He hands me back my license and registration before he turns to leave. I am left speechless, but I put my license back in my wallet and fix the button fly on my jeans.

"You should pull off to the rest stop, just in case he thinks I was lying Edward. I'll rush into the bathroom just to make it look good."

"I don't think he really thought you had female issues Bella. He kept glancing down at my open fly. He knew exactly what was going on." She blushes, although I'm not sure why. Surely having to explain…well you know has to be more embarrassing then getting caught with her hand down my pants.

We make a show of getting off at the rest stop anyway; Bella says she needs to use the restroom, when she comes back ten minutes later we are on our way back home. There is no more bouncing, but the singing has resumed, only softer. Her beautiful voice calms me and I start singing along with her. Once we're home I have forgotten all about being pulled over, we're both happy.

The rest of my week is insane; I only get to talk to Bella on the phone since my schedule is so crazy right now. I have surgeries and consultations and meetings with my father to deal with. It's Saturday before I actually see her again at her place, but instead of spending time together she's working on a song and refuses to step away from it until it's perfect. Apparently it's for tonight's set and since my parents are going to be there she wants it to be just right.

"Bella, I miss you, can you please put the song down for a few minutes?" I sound like a fucking girl, but at this point I couldn't care less, I need to be inside of her, right the fuck now.

"I'm almost done Edward. I'm sorry." Her guitar strums from her room and now I've given up all hope of getting laid until after her set tonight.

Forty minutes later Bella strolls out of her room with a huge smile on her face. "All done?"

"Yep, it's perfect. I've been working on it for so long; I just can't wait for you to hear it." She takes a seat on my lap so I wrap my arms around her.

"Oh yeah? Is it for me?"

"Yes, actually it is for you." Bella leans into me and presses her lips to mine; it's not urgent, but soft and sweet. I absolutely love her light kisses, I love all of her kisses, but the light ones give me chills. Soft kisses turn into passionate kisses and we make-out like teenagers until it's time to go to the club. My jeans are painfully uncomfortable when it's time to go, so I think of other things, like Emmett doing jumping jacks in his tightie whities, yeah that image is unfortunately burned into my brain no matter how much I try to repress it. The memory worked it's voodoo magic on my erection and we were ready to go.

Bella gives me a kiss before going backstage when we get to the club. With her gone to get ready I head on over to the table that Tanya always reserves for us, right up in front. My parents are already there, so is Jasper and Rosalie; apparently Emmett has some work commitment tonight and isn't going to be able to make it.

"Hey everyone." I greet everyone already there.

"Hey man." Jasper says.

"Edward, how's it going?" Rosalie asks when I sit down.

"Pretty good. Work is busy, but today has been all about relaxing, which is nice. Where's Alice." Rose shakes her head and her eyes dart to Jasper who looks upset, I guess there must be trouble in paradise. Thankfully my mother saves the day by changing the subject.

"Edward, how are you dear? Where is Bella?"

"She's backstage getting ready. You're going to have to just make do with my company for now until her set is over."

My father gives me a hug and we all make small talk as we wait for Bella to come on.

"Good evening, welcome to Requiem's. We have a great show for you tonight. Our regular singer, Bella is back this week, I know you've all missed her, but she's got some new songs to sing for you tonight, so let's give it up for Bella." Tanya's introduction is rewarded with loud clapping, whistling and screaming Bella's name. She comes out and takes a seat at the piano bench, adjusting the mic, and then she speaks.

"Hey everyone. I'm so happy to be back and I have a few new songs that I want to sing for you tonight. I hope you like them." Soft notes start from the piano, I recognize it as a song she had been working on a few weeks ago, not the one she was perfecting tonight, that one I was waiting for because she said it was for me.

_Been up all night  
Staring at you  
Wondering what's on your mind_

_I've been this way  
With so many before  
But this feels like the first time_

_You want the sunrise  
To go back to bed  
I want to make you laugh_

_Mess up my bed with me_

_Kick off the covers  
I'm waiting_

_Every word you say I think  
I should write down_

_I don't want to forget  
Come daylight_

_Happy to lay here  
Just happy to be here  
I'm happy to know you_

_Play me a song  
Your newest one  
Please leave your taste on my tongue_

_Paperweight on my back  
Cover me like a blanket_

_Mess up my bed with me_

_Kick off the covers  
I'm waiting_

_Every word you say I think  
I should write down_

_I don't to forget  
Come daylight_

_And no need to worry  
That's wastin time  
And no need to wonder  
What's been on my mind  
It's you  
It's you_

_It's you_

_Every word you say I think  
I should write down_

_Don't want to forget  
Come daylight_

_And I give up  
I let you win_

_You win 'cause I'm not counting_

_You made it back  
To sleep again  
Wonder what you're dreaming_

The crowd erupted with applause, everyone at my table was on their feet, the song was beautiful and so Bella. Now, I'll never admit to this to anyone but myself, but there was a tear running down my cheek at her words, I knew without a doubt they were for me and if at all possible my heart grew with love for this woman even more than it already had.

**A/N: So there you have it. This song was not what she had been working so hard on, that'll be next chapter, but I do adore this song. It's Paperweight by Joshua Radin, if you haven't heard it go find it, truly an amazing and beautiful song. The Katy Perry song she sang at Carlisle and Esme's was "Not Like the Movies" just in case you were curious. I am so happy that my long bout of writers block went away. Currently I'm working on the next chapter for SS and also working on finishing up Chapter 17 of Infatuation. Thank you to everyone for being so patient with me, I love each and every one of you for your continued support. Please leave me some love and review.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey everyone, welcome back to Singing Softly, I know you've all been waiting patiently and I've been slacking. Anyway I hope I didn't keep you all waiting so long that you've given up on our lovely couple. There's a lot coming up in the next few chapters, so you'll want to stay tuned.**

**I don't own Twilight or any of the songs used in this chapter but I do love Stephenie Meyer for writing such a wonderful story and for the artists who write such amazing songs that I have no choice but to use them in this little fic.**

"Thank you. This next song I wrote for someone very special to me. I started it when I first saw him at a bar that I work at; I didn't even get up enough courage to talk to him for months, so I wrote this song bit by bit as the months progressed. Edward, you're my inspiration, the love of my life, and I can't imagine what my life would be like if you hadn't _Enchanted_ me that very first night. This one's for you baby."

I had been practicing with a student of Peter's named Leah who has been learning the drums, my piano student Jane and Jasper to get ready for this performance for over a month; I picked the best of our students because they'd pick it up quickly. I wanted it to sound absolutely perfect and one instrument was just not going to cut it. I started with my guitar and began singing; Jane came in right after me with the keyboard. My eyes locked solely on Edward as the other instruments started in and the words started flowing through me.

_There I was again tonight forcing laughter, faking smiles  
Same old tired, lonely place  
Walls of insincerity  
Shifting eyes and vacancy vanished when I saw your face  
All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you_

Your eyes whispered "have we met?"  
Across the room your silhouette starts to make it's way to me  
The playful conversation starts  
Counter all your quick remarks like passing notes in secrecy  
And it was enchanting to meet you  
All I can say is I was enchanted to meet you

This night is sparkling, don't you let it go  
I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home  
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew  
I was enchanted to meet you

The lingering question kept me up  
2am, who do you love?  
I wonder till I'm wide awake  
Now I'm pacing back and forth, wishing you were at my door  
I'd open up and you would say,  
It was enchanting to meet you  
All I know is I was enchanted to meet you

Leah's drums were right on point and not surprising to me but surely a surprise to Jasper, his guitar back up was perfect. He was so nervous being up on stage for the first time and the added stress of it being my song and singing it for Edward made him even more nervous. I wasn't the only one who wanted this song to sound just right.

_This night is sparkling, don't you let it go  
I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home  
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew  
This night is flawless, don't you let it go  
I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone  
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew  
I was enchanted to meet you_

This is me praying that this was the very first page  
Not where the story line ends  
My thoughts will echo your name until I see you again  
These are the words I held back as I was leaving too soon  
I was enchanted to meet you  
Please don't be in love with someone else  
Please don't have somebody waiting on you  
Please don't be in love with someone else  
Please don't have somebody waiting on you

This night is sparkling, don't you let it go  
I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home  
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew  
This night is flawless, don't you let it go  
I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone  
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew  
I was enchanted to meet you  


The last part was all me, just my voice and my guitar and just as when I started my gaze fell right on Edward again as I sang the last verse of the song.

_Please don't be in love with someone else  
Please don't have somebody waiting on you_

__Everyone in the club was on their feet clapping, whistling and hollering, including Edward, when he mouthed "I Love You" I couldn't keep the huge smile off my face and more than anything I just wanted to be in his arms.

"Thank you! I did have a little help this evening. Give a big round of applause to Jasper Whitlock, Leah Clearwater and Jane Reynolds." The roaring applause was deafening in the small space and by the looks on Jas, Jane and Leah's faces I knew they were happy with how they did, they ate it up. "We're going to take a little break, but I'll be right back."

When we were all backstage I gave each of them a big hug. "Thank you guys so much. You were all amazing; I knew you could do it."

"Oh my gosh Bella, I can't believe I just did that. That was the most exhilarating experience of my entire life." Jane was practically bouncing off the walls and squealing, it reminded me of Alice actually. I pulled myself from my thoughts of my ex-best friend, not wanting to bring myself down with what was lost in the whole Jasper/Alice drama. I was over it, mostly.

"You did great Jane." I told her, she hugged me much like Emmett does, except when I gasped for breath she immediately let me go and blushed. Jane was accepted into Julliard, but wasn't sure if she could perform on stage, this just helped her realize that although it would be nerve-wracking, she could do it, which was my goal when asking her to accompany me on stage, well that and is one of the most talented pianists that I've seen in a long ass time.

"Thank you Bella for letting us play up there. I was so nervous, I think I messed up somewhere in the middle." Leah said nervously wringing her hands together, Peter had told me when I talked to him about having Leah help me that she was a perfectionist and more than likely she'd be hard on herself after the performance no matter how awesome she was and believe me, she was awesome.

"Leah, you were unbelievable, I don't think I could ask for anyone better to play drums for me. You were perfect Leah, really."

"Really? I know I slipped up a little near the end there too." She asked skeptically.

"Enough of that, you nailed it. Would I lie to you?" She hugged me then whispering her thanks even though I felt like I should be the one thanking her. A tap on my shoulder broke us apart, but I was immediately enveloped in Jas' arms.

"You were amazing Bella. I'm really glad you had me come up there with you; it was just the boost of confidence I needed to continue my lessons. You're a great teacher B."

"Oh Jas. You did amazing. I had no doubt that you could do it."

"Bella?" Edward's voice came from behind me and I immediately let go of Jas and ran to him, leaping into his arms. He caught me, spinning me around and kissing me like he hadn't seen me in weeks. His tongue thrust into my mouth, both of us moaning. I didn't need his words to tell me that he liked the song; this kiss told me everything I would ever need to know. "Thank you baby that was…God Bella there are no words for that. I can't believe you wrote that for me. I love you so much."

"I love you too Edward." He kissed me hard again, his velvety tongue searching for mine; he turned my head to the side to deepen our kiss. I was getting turned on, ready to go into the dressing room and fuck his brains out right here, show be damned, Tay could figure something out.

"Bells?" Tanya came storming into the backstage area killing my mojo. Edward slowly extricated himself from my mouth, his eyes locked on mine like there was no-one else in the room. "There you are. You've got one more minute, and no leaving me stranded to get some with that HOT man of yours." You would think that she said that comment, not knowing Edward was right there, but she was looking right at him when the words escaped her mouth, I swear the woman has no filter what-so-ever.

"I guess I need to go back up there." All I really wanted to do was go home with Edward at this point, but I had at least another hour up on stage before that could happen.

"Yeah, but we'll continue this later beautiful. Count on it." He released me, his hand traveling down my arm then he laced our fingers together. We didn't let go until we were both too far to hold on. I didn't think it was possible to love someone as much as I love him, especially after everything that happened with Jamie, but I trust Edward with my life and I know he'll never break my heart. I hoped everyday that this feeling would never end. I heard Tay announce me again; guess it was time for me to go back up, by myself this time.

The next hour passed quickly, I sang a few of my own songs and some covers as well, the crowd was eating it up. I began to think that maybe I could actually do this, record an album, go on tour, all of it, as long as I had Edward I felt like I could accomplish anything. Little did I know that while I was on stage thinking that there was a talent scout in the audience that night.

After the show I sat in the dressing room, packing up my stuff when there was a knock on my door. I turn expecting to see Edward, but instead it's someone I've never seen before. Before I can ask if he's lost he speaks.

"Hi, I didn't mean to disturb you, but I just wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed your performance tonight."

"Um, thanks?" I'm not sure how to take his compliment, to be perfectly honest he's kind of freaking me out with the way he just keeps staring at me and smiling. I arch an eyebrow at him, silently asking if there was anything else and it seems to bring him back to reality.

"Oh, sorry, I'm being so rude. My name is Bryan Jackson; I work for Denali Records as a talent scout."

"God damn-it Carlisle." I mutter under my breath. I thought Edward told him not to call his music buddies.

"What was that?" He asked, confused.

"Sorry about that. Look I appreciate you doing Mr. Cullen a favor and all but I'm really not…"

"I don't know anyone named Mr. Cullen. I am actually in town visiting my brother; he told me about this club and thought it would be fun. He never told me that they have live performances here though. Anyway, I just wanted to see if you were interested in recording a demo, we can do it from here; you won't have to travel at all unless my bosses think you have potential after they hear your demo, which I am certain he will. You have an amazing talent Bella." He stops for a second, taking in my shocked expression. "Can I ask you something?" I nod and he continues. "Those songs, did you write them yourself?"

"Most of them yes, I did do a few covers though." He laughs loudly.

"Yes, I knew that. Music industry guy and all, I probably wouldn't have a job if I didn't know that some of those were covers Bella." Bryan calms himself down while I replay everything he just said in my own head. Could I record a demo? Sure I could, I mean just because you record a demo doesn't mean that you're getting signed, recording an entire album then going on stage and singing in front of millions of people. Yikes. "So what do you think?"

"Can I have some time to think about it?" I really want to talk to Edward about this and see what he has to say. I know he was supportive when we were just talking about, but at that time the opportunity wasn't right in front of me, would this change how he feels about it?

"Absolutely. Here's my card. My cell is on the back. Don't take too long though, I'm only here for a week and if you want to do this I'll need to set a few things up here in Seattle."

"Okay. Thanks." Bryan shakes my hand, tells me he looks forward to hearing from me then walks out the door. My mind is going a million miles per second at this point. What should I do? I just recently thought that I could perform in front of people for real and here was my chance.

"Hey baby." Edward, thank God he's here. I'm out of my chair and in his arms before I can blink, his arms wrap around me so tight that it should be uncomfortable, but it feels like home. "What's going on? Who was that guy that just came out of here?"

"His name is Bryan Jackson and he works for Denali Records." I tell him. His hands freeze in my hair and his body stiffens, it's making me nervous. "He wants me to cut a demo for his bosses, says I can do it here and I don't need to travel unless the higher-ups like my stuff."

"They're gonna love it Bella. You're amazing. I…I think you should do it." This shouldn't surprise me, but somehow it does. After everything we've been through for the past few months I guess I expected him to want to talk this out more before making a decision.

"Do you think I'm ready for that? What about my stage fright?" His arms tighten around me, it's comforting but I'm also curious as to what's going through his mind. We stay that way for a few minutes until his silence finally drives me mad. "Edward?"

"You're ready Bella. I know you don't think you are, but…your words and music they deserve to be heard by more than just the people who go to Requiems." Edward paused, placing a kiss on the top of my head as I thought about what he just said. I've never had anyone believe in me as much as Edward does. "You can do this and I'll be by your side the entire time. Besides it's just a demo, you don't need to stress about the stage fright right now. Let's just take one thing at a time, okay?"

"Okay." I whisper into his neck. He's right, there's really no point in worrying about the stage fright right now, and it's just a demo. We loosen our hold on the other so we can go home. I'm so ready to go home. "Let's get out of here, I'm completely drained."

"Me too baby. Your place or mine?"

"Yours!, Definitely yours." As much as I love my apartment I really don't feel like dealing with Jake, Paul or Tay at this moment. Edward chuckles, grabs my things and leads me out to his car. "Wait! I didn't get to see your parents."

"They left a little while ago; they did tell me to tell you that they loved the show and expect to see you tomorrow at brunch." Okay, I guess we're having brunch with Edward's parents tomorrow. After a quick stop by my place to pick up some clothes for brunch tomorrow we finally arrive at Edwards. Teeth have been brushed, clothing removed and now…well now we are making out on his bed like a couple of horny teenagers.

"Fuck Bella, you're driving me crazy." What's driving him crazy you ask? That would probably be all the moaning I'm doing while his hands explore my body, or it could be the way my hands go from lightly pinching his nipples to traveling down his abs but stopping right before I reach his aching cock. Come to think of it I'm pretty sure that's what is driving him the craziest. You want to hear a little secret? I want my man insane with lust so he'll fuck me hard. I love it when he just lets go, not that I don't adore the sweet slow love making, but sometimes a girl just wants to be fucked, you know what I'm sayin? My hand is making its decent right now in fact and I think just maybe he might have had enough, his stomach muscles are trembling beneath my fingers and his breathing has definitely sped up. "That's it, I can't take it anymore." YES! Edward rolls on top of me, pinning my hands above my head and his lips are wrapped around my left nipple. I start squirming beneath him, fuck he feels so good. "Is this what you wanted baby?" All I can do is moan my approval at him. He's leaving hot, wet kisses all along my body, his very hard erection is pressing into my thigh, I need friction, like NOW so I squirm a little more trying my best to line us up so he can just thrust into me, but it's just not working. His legs have me pinned down too making it nearly impossible to move. "Uh uh uh little girl! I'm in control here and right now I am going to torture you until you're begging for my cock."

That's all he needs is for me to beg? Well I can do that, I'm desperate here. "Please Edward."

"Please what baby?"

"Pllllllleeeeaaaseee." I moan.

"You need to say the words Bella. Tell me how much you want my thick hard cock inside your dripping wet pussy and I'll give it to you." I groan, fine, I can do this.

"Please Edward. I need your big beautiful cock to fuck my slick, wet pussy until I can no longer feel my toes. Please baby, I need it so bad." If that didn't do it then nothing would, but judging from the shuddering breath he just released I'd say my words hit the mark. He swiftly lined up our most sensitive areas and thrust into me roughly, it took my breath away.

"Jesus fuck Bella! I'm gonna fuck you so hard baby."

"YES!" And fuck me he does. He's thrusting into me at a maddening pace making me moan like a porn star. All too soon we're both coming undone. When he rolls off me we're both panting like we've just run a marathon, a thin sheet of sweat covering both our bodies and I don't know about him, because honestly I can't move a muscle, but the huge smile on my face is actually starting to hurt. I'm completely blissed out right now.

When I wake the next morning I am surrounded by warmth, Edward's legs are intertwined with mine and his arm is covering my torso, my man is a cuddler. I'm so comfortable I don't want to move so I snuggle into him taking in his serene face as he sleeps, smelling his delectable scent that makes me want to taste every inch of him, that gives me an idea. I lick him, but he stays sound asleep. _Hmph_. I'm kind of trapped here so doing what I really want to do isn't feasible unless he loosens his hold on me, but every time I move his arms tighten around me. What to do, what to do, what to do. I start placing small kisses along his neck from the space behind his ear all the way to the part of his chest that I can reach. Edward starts letting out these little moans so I figure I can get my hands in on waking his sexy ass up. As my hand slowly travels down his muscular chest I feel his body shudder, feeling empowered I keep going, lower, lower, lower until I reach his already hard cock and dear lord I am soaking wet. My hand wraps around his length and I start pumping, my lips never leaving his neck. Jesus I'm horny. His hips start thrusting into my hand so I know he's awake now, his moans and groans are getting louder and I'm pretty sure I heard a "fuck" come out of his luscious mouth.

With my mouth right beneath his ear I whisper "Morning baby."

"Mmm Bella."

"I want you Edward."

"Take me Bella. I'm yours to do with as you please. Please baby." Oh jeez, what his words do to me. Taking his words in I quickly extricate myself from his hold only to straddle his hips, my aching center hovering right above his erect dick, my hand still stroking him, seeing as I can't possibly have him inside me with my hand wrapped around him I let go and sink down onto him. "FUCK Bella!"

"You feel so good Edward; I don't know how I can ever get enough of you." Edward's hands move to my hips, fingers digging, almost painfully into my skin but instead of hurting, it just adds to the pleasure that his body is bringing me. He's hitting my sweet spot and I know I'm only moments away from coming, desperate for us to cum together I speed up my movements. I feel that familiar coiling in my stomach and Edward starts thrusting erratically. My orgasm hits me like a freight train, I can barely make out Edwards moans as he reaches his climax at the same time as I hit mine.

Flopping myself back on the bed I enjoy my post orgasmic high while I try to calm my breathing. I swear only Edward does this to me, he makes me feel…shit he just makes me feel plain and simple.

"I don't know what I did to deserve _that_ but if you tell me I'll make sure to do it all the time." I laugh because he doesn't need to do anything but be himself for me to want him. "I love you so much Bella." He turns his head towards his nightstand, no doubt looking to see what time it is, I have to admit I'm curious myself, but it can't be too late since it's still a little dark outside. "We don't have to get up for a few more hours. Do you want to try and get a little more sleep baby?"

"Okay." I yawn; Edward chuckles, kisses my temple and drifts off back to sleep. By the time I wake again Edward is already up and I hear the shower running. I decide to get up and make us some coffee, although joining him in the shower is rather tempting but we just don't have the time. We have only 45 minutes to be out the door.

"Something smells good." Edward's arms wrap around me from behind, his head resting on my shoulder.

"I figured we could both use the coffee this morning. I better go grab a shower, we don't have much time." He nods, sticking his bottom lip out, which I bite, I can't help it, and he's just too damn cute.

"Bellllllaaaaa." He whined; see what did I tell you, cute.

"We don't have time sexy man."

"We can be a little late." I giggle because sex and Edward will never make us just a little late. My eyebrow rises at his comment, now he looks resigned. "Okay, go before I cancel all together so we can spend all day in bed instead." Shivers run down my spine while I seriously consider cancelling on his parents.

Twenty minutes later we're walking out the door to his car. The ride to the Cullen's house is quick, with no reason to be nervous this time Edward and I talk, having a great time connecting and sharing stories until we pull up. "You ready baby?"

"Yep."

"Bella, dear, I'm so happy you're here. We had to leave a bit earlier than we would have liked last night, I wanted to tell you how much your performance moved me, you're incredible." Esme really is the sweetest woman I've ever met.

"Thank you Esme, that means so much to me."

We enter the house; Carlisle gives us drinks while Esme finishes up in the kitchen. Talk immediately turns to last night and Carlisle can't stop gushing, telling me that he would have no problem having his music friends come out to hear me sing, that's when Edward tells them about Bryan.

"Are you going to do it?" Esme asks excitedly.

"I haven't decided yet. What if they don't like my voice? I mean I guess they could like my lyrics and I can be a songwriter which is what I wanted to do anyway…." I tell them wistfully. I still have yet to decide if I can do the whole singing up on stage thing with thousands of people watching.

Edward and Esme both scoffed at me at the same time. Carlisle and I start laughing at the similar expression on their faces, well that and the fact that they made exactly the same sound at the same time. They both soon started laughing with us, but not before giving us a glare, it only made me laugh harder, they really are a lot alike. The rest of our visit went on without much more talk of me recording a demo. I didn't really want to think about what could come after, I couldn't. The chances of me actually recording an album and going on tour were slim. Millions of people dream of making it in the music industry and maybe a handful of them reach their goals.

Out of the blue Carlisle started taking about me and my music again. "Bella, you're an amazing singer and songwriter. Those guys would be idiots not to sign you. And like you said if they don't then you have the songwriting to fall back on and it sounds to me like that's what you want to do anyway. You can't do either for a living if you don't take the risk though." I was taken aback by Carlisle's words; I truly had no idea that Edward's family would support me so much after only having known me a short time, but I could definitely get used to their unconditional love and support. My parents weren't overly affectionate and although I know they are proud of me neither of them are the type to say it out loud.

"Thank you Carlisle. I have quite a bit to think about, but not much time. He wants an answer before the week is through so he has time to set up recording time at a studio here." Edward and Esme talk about something while Carlisle excuses himself to take a phone call; meanwhile I sit there thinking over how my life has changed so drastically in the last few months. I went from being alone and scared of relationships to having a wonderful boyfriend that loves me with all his heart not to mention his family who are more like family to me already. I also have someone wanting me to record my own songs, which really is just so surreal that I can't even put it into words. I need to reconcile my thoughts on the matter and soon I suppose. Bryan did say to call as soon as possible. I keep going back and forth with this, not really sure if I want to do it, but then again my music is a piece of me and I want to share it with the world, it's just that I would rather someone else's voice be the one singing them.

"What do you think Bella?" Edward's voice pulls me from my thoughts, when I look at him with the blank expression I am sure is on my face right now, he smirks and shakes his head. "My mom and were discussing the upcoming fundraiser at the hospital. She suggested we invite everyone, the more the merrier right? I just wanted to make sure you were okay with _certain_ people being invited." He rubs my thigh reassuringly. I love that a simple touch from him can instantly calm me.

"I don't see why not, it's not like I'm going or anything." I tell him teasingly, truth be told he hasn't even asked me to go with him yet.

"Edward Anthony, have you not asked Bella to accompany you to the fundraiser? I thought I raised you better than that." Esme smacked the back of his head and Edward had a look of shame on his face. He rubbed his head for good measure, although I'm certain the smack that Esme landed on him didn't hurt.

"Uh, no I guess I haven't." He turns to look me square in the eye before speaking again. Good boy. "Bella the hospital is having a fundraiser in a few weeks and I was wondering, hoping really, if you would be my date." His eyes penetrated mine as he asked me; I couldn't breathe with the look he was giving me. It was pure sex, but there was also love. I felt my stomach coiling as we stared at each other. All I could think about was getting out of here and having my way with him at home. A throat clearing broke our gaze, I predictably blushed bright red, wouldn't you if you had thoughts of fucking your boyfriend while in the same room with his mother? Talk about embarrassing. I was just thankful that she couldn't read minds; if she could I'd be in real trouble.

"I would love to go to the fundraiser with you Edward. Thank you."

"Great, now that that's settled, Edward can you make sure to invite your friends. They will of course need to be in formal wear. I doubt that will be a problem for the ladies, but remind Jasper and Emmett that if they don't have a nice suit or tux to get one." Edward agreed to tell everyone, just as Carlisle was coming back into the living room.

"I am so sorry about that. I am going to have to cut our visit short I'm afraid, I'm needed at the hospital right away."

"Is everything alright dear?" Esme had gotten off the couch and gone to her husband. He had a worried look on his face so I assumed that things were most definitely not going to be alright at the hospital.

"No, one of my patients has suffered a heart attack, they don't know if he is going to make it. I need to be there for him. Bella, I am very proud of you, I know you'll make the right decision as far as your music is concerned. I assume I will see you both at the fundraiser?" We both nodded and with a hug goodbye Carlisle was gone. Edward and I helped Esme clean up a bit before leaving as well.

In the car I was pensive, thinking through all the pros and cons of calling and accepting Bryan's offer.

"What are you thinking so hard about over there?"

"Hm? Oh, just the whole recording thing. I don't know if I should do it, I'm scared Edward." The car slows down and veers to the right, putting in park. "What are you doing?"

"Pulling over so we can talk about this." Once the car is stopped he unbuckles his seatbelt, turns his body towards me and waits.

"You know I have stage fright." He nods. "Well what if they love my stuff and want me to tour? What am I going to do then? I'm fine going on stage at Requiems with a couple of drinks, but that's singing in front of what, 50 people? Just the thought of singing in front of thousands makes me have cold sweats."

"Bella, we've talked about this baby. I know you're nervous, but I really think that we should take this one step at a time. There really is no point in stressing yourself out over this right now."

"I know." My words come out as barely a whisper, I'm not even sure he heard me, but it doesn't matter when his hand is on my cheek and his lips are pressed against mine at that moment.

"It'll be okay." He says against my lips before he kisses me again. "Let's go home baby." I nod and we're back on the road in no time. The rest of our day is spent watching movies on my sofa. We order in Chinese for dinner before going to bed. He sleeps at my place where we make love well into the early morning. He doesn't seem to care that he has to get up early in the morning to go back home for clothes so he can work all day. The thought crosses my mind that maybe he should leave some essentials here for times when he spends the night but has to work the next day, like tonight.

The next morning I wake up to the smell of coffee, my body aches in the best of ways from all our activity, which all becomes blaringly obvious when I stretch. Looking at the clock I notice that it's well past 10 am. Holy hell why did I sleep in so late and why didn't Edward wake me up? I know he's gone by now and I'm a little sad that he didn't at least wake me up to say goodbye.

With my robe wrapped around my still naked body I head into the kitchen for the sweet morning elixir sitting in my coffee pot calling out to me. I notice a note taped to my coffee maker, making me smile.

_My Beautiful Bella_

_I didn't want to wake you; you looked so utterly adorable and peaceful. I just wanted to let you know that I am so proud of you. I know you'll make the right choice for you as far as calling Bryan is concerned, I just want you to know that whatever you decide to do I will stand behind you *possibly ogling your delectable ass* every step of the way. ;)_

_Love forever,  
Edward_

Is he not the sweetest? I think he just might be, yes. After having my coffee I decide to shower. I have nothing going on today, but I do need to make a decision so that is my plan for today. I may even call Tay, Rose, Jake and…no, I can't call Alice anymore. Scratch that. I'll call the usual suspects, minus Alice for some outsider insight.

"Okay, so let me get this straight, this guy offered you an opportunity to actually record your music and you're thinking of turning it down, are you insane?"

"No, Jake, I'm not insane, I'm trying to be practical here."

"Bella, I understand your reluctance here, but I have to agree with Edward. It's not like you have to go on stage and perform in front of millions of people tomorrow. All they are asking you to do record a couple of songs for the muky muks to hear. Touring or performing for that matter is so far off you really shouldn't be worrying about it at this point. We can all help you work on your stage fright if things even go that far. Just do it."

"Barbie's right, you HAVE to do this B. You'll regret it for the rest of your life if you don't." Rose gave Tay a dirty look for the Barbie comment, but Tay being who she is just blew it off, it's not like she's never called her that before or worse many times. I decide in the end that they are all right and I hold on to my original idea of just being a songwriter. All three of them are so excited about my decision that they refuse to leave. First I call Edward at work to let him know, but it goes straight to voicemail. I ask him to call me back when he gets a chance, but I don't tell him the news, I'd rather talk to him in person than leave a message.

I dial the number on Bryan's card, it rings three times, he picks it up on the fourth ring, right before I lose my nerve and hang up.

"Bryan Jackson."

"Uh, hi Bryan, this is Isabella Swan, we met at…"

"Requiems, yes, I remember. I was hoping you'd call. How are you?" I can tell he's just trying to make small talk to make me feel more at ease, it would work if not for the fact that my three friends are sitting on my sofa staring at me, listening to every word I say.

"I'm doing well thanks. How's your visit with your brother?"

"Good, his kids wear me out, but I'm having a good time." There's a pause in our conversation but I can hear a little girl talking to him on the other end. "Yes sweetie. Give Uncle Bryan a couple of minutes then we'll play. I promise." So freaking cute. "Sorry about that Bella. Now, I'm assuming you're calling about my offer?"

"Yes and I have decided to do it."

"That's wonderful. I am so pleased. I'll set everything up and call you in a couple of days with details. How does that sound?"

"Perfect. Thank you Bryan for this opportunity." I tell him.

"Please, Bella you're the one doing me a favor. If my superiors like you half as much as I think they will, well let's just say finding you could do wonders for my career." Well alright then. What do I even say to that? "Okay, I need to get going but I will call you in a couple of days after everything is all set. Do you have any restrictions on your time that I need to be aware of before I set up studio time?"

I tell him about my job teaching music, my karaoke gig and of course my weekly stint at Requiems and he assures me that he'll be able to work around that schedule with no problem. I feel relieved that the call is over with. My friends are beaming at me when I hang up the phone. They all hop off the couch, rushing towards me giving me a giant group bear hug. Tay says something about celebrating, Jake mentions tequila body shots and Rose says she'll bring the salt.

After we've all calmed down enough we talk about the fundraiser at the hospital. They are all so excited to go and we all plan a trip to the mall to shop for dresses, it takes a lot of convincing to get Jake to agree that he should rent a tux and not buy one. I try to tell him that I know he owns a perfectly suitable suit that he could wear but he rolls his eyes at me.

The Tequila is flowing and I've had quite a bit to drink when there's a knock at the door. Rose rushes over to get it since she's the closest, but nearly falls over a couple of times before she actually gets to the door. I hear the door open and muffled voices, but I can't make anything out, nor can I figure out who is at the door.

"Barbie! Who's at the door?" Tay screams at the top if her lungs.

"Fuck T! It's Dr. Feelgood." Rose saunters back into the living room and I see a tuft of bronze hair behind her. My heart speeds up as he approaches. I try to stand but fall right back on my ass, everyone then proceeds to laugh their asses off at me.

"Hey baby. I see I've interrupted something good." I'm finally off the sofa and in Edward's arms, his scent envelops me and I swear I could just stay there forever. He smells so good. I want to lick him. "Uh, Bella…we can't do that with everyone around baby." He whispers into my hair, his warm breath fanning over my neck causing me to shiver. I have no idea what he's talking about though, all we're doing is hugging.

"What do you mean?"

"You just licked my neck Bella, you know what that does to me and as much as I would love to fuck you right now I'm not into doing so with an audience." His words go straight to my core making me impossibly wet.

"EVERYBODY OUT!" I yell. Edward winces, oops; I must have done that too close to his ear. Thankfully he starts laughing almost immediately after so it couldn't have hurt too badly. Jake, Tay and Rose are all looking at me like I've lost my mind not making a move. Did I not just tell them to leave?

"Bella, thas…neway (belch) I ca…leave." Rose slurs, but sadly she's right, she drove here and there's no way she can drive right now. I sigh feeling resigned that I don't get to fuck my hot as hell doctor boyfriend.

"Yeah, besides we want to be here when you share your news with Dr. Feel-me-up." I scowled at Tay, she threw her hands up in surrender, as she fucking should, he's not feeling anyone up but me, besides that she's happily married and it gets it regularly, lucky bitch. Wait, so do I, except for the married part. I'm a lucky bitch too. That puts a smile on my face.

Edward looks confused and I can tell when he figures things out. I hadn't made up my mind before he left today and I never did get to talk to him today. "What did he say baby?" I go on to tell him exactly what I could remember from the conversation, I think I got most of it, but I would talk to Edward about it tomorrow when I was a little less drunk. "Bella, that's great." He kissed my lips so hard I thought they might be bruised later, but I didn't really mind. A throat clearing broke our kiss that was heating up quickly, why does everyone ruin my fun by clearing their damn throats? I hadn't realized it, but when my guests burst my sexual bubble I was letting my leg down from around Edwards hips. Oops again.

"Well if you guys would have left when I said then you wouldn't have to see me molesting my boyfriend. "

Tay wiped at the fake tears under her eye. "Our baby's growing up." This comment earned her an eye roll from me.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't you have a husband to fuck?" Rose burst out laughing, Jake snickered and Edward, bless him, was trying really hard not to laugh at my outburst. That was until Tay started crying. I immediately felt horrible and wondered if there was something going on. I have been so focused on the Denali offer that I didn't even notice if Tay was off today. I'm a terrible friend. "T, I'm sorry, what's wrong?"

She straightened up and looked at me; there wasn't a tear in sight. "Gotcha! But you're right, I do have a husband that needs tending to." She walked over to me with a smirk plastered on her pretty face and like the mature adult that I am I stuck my tongue out at her, she grabbed said tongue and wouldn't let go. Her fingers tasted like lime and salt from all the tequila shots. "I'm proud of you B. I'll talk to you tomorrow." With that she let go of my tongue, hugged me and walked out the door with a backwards wave.

"I'm gonna take off too Bells, Paul is waiting for me."

"Okay Jake. Thanks for the moral support today."

"Anytime, B. Later Barbie!" Rose flipped him off as she snuggled into the couch. I told Edward to make himself comfortable in my room while I got some things for Rose, she was already snoring loudly on the couch when I came back out. I decided to leave her there even though there was a bed in the guest room I didn't feel like moving her or trying to wake her. Usually when Rose passes out there's no getting her up until she's good and ready. That didn't mean that I would let her be too uncomfortable all night though. I grabbed the extra pillow from the guest bed as well as the throw my mom got me from one of her many trips, got Rose situated then headed to my room to "talk" for my hot as hell boyfriend. *wink, wink* You and I both know there won't be a whole lot of talking going on in that room tonight, but when I went inside to join him he was fast asleep on top of the covers. I took his shoes and pants off so he could be more comfortable before getting ready for bed myself.

As I got myself situated next to Edward I thought about agreeing to the demo. I really hoped that I made the right decision, I guess only time will tell.

**And that's all she wrote for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, go ahead and recommend it to all your friends and review, those are nice too.**

**The song used in this chapter was Enchanted by Taylor Swift (Yes I love her, don't judge, she's amazing.)**

**Is everyone ready for Halloween? Who's dressing up? I am, I'm going to be our lovely Bella Swan this year and I am very excited. Have a good week all.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Wow, long time no see, right? It seems I finally got my writing groove back, hopefully it stays, and I've missed this little creative outlet. I won't keep you here long, I just want to thank everyone for sticking with me even though it's been forever since I updated. I feel like I say this a lot, which I probably do.**

**Anyway, here's the newest chapter….enjoy and tell me what you think at the end.**

The past month has been..well, it's been insane. I've been working some crazy hours, helping my dad out at the hospital because a couple of doctors up and quit on him without notice, being the dutiful son that I am I threw myself into the lion's den to help pick up the slack where I could. Thankfully he has been interviewing replacements nonstop for the past couple of weeks and he's narrowed down his choices, so the torture should end fairly soon.

Bella's been busy too, doing her regular work at the bar as well as her normal lessons over at Peter's store. To add to all of that she's been recording at the studio that Bryan found. I am so proud of her, but I also miss her like crazy. Sure we spend every night together, whether it is at her place or mine, but that's all we have. Don't get me wrong having her in my arms every night is amazing, but I miss having deep conversations with her while we eat a meal together or hell just sitting on the couch watching The Big Bang Theory or one of the many other shows we enjoy together. I know this won't last forever, the being apart all the time, but it doesn't make things any easier right now.

On the plus side she's been so unbelievably happy lately; nothing seems to get her down not even the situation with Alice. I really wish something would happen with that, either forgive her or stop being so angry at her, she doesn't need that kind of stress.

I'm working on some patient notes in my office, which honestly I've been doing a lot of lately when I'm not at the hospital or seeing my own patients, it's been getting backed up, but tonight it looks like I will be all caught up and will have to find something else to keep me occupied while Bella's working. I've tried to convince her to let me pay her a visit while she's at the studio, but she's adamant about me not hearing something new that she's been working on until its "perfect".

My phone starts ringing just as I put the final note on my last file.

"Dr. Cullen."

"Well hello there sexy." A smile instantly lights up my face with the sound of her sultry voice.

"Hello to you too my tempting songstress."

"Where are you baby? I thought you were coming over tonight?" I look at the clock and I see that it's an hour past the time I said I was going to meet Bella at her place.

"Sorry Bella. I just finished up the notes on my last patient file. Time slipped away from me. I'm going to lock up here and be right over. Do you want me to pick up some dinner?" It's the least I could do for keeping her waiting for an hour.

"That sounds great, how about that little Italian place across the street from your office? I've been craving that mushroom risotto like you wouldn't believe." I laughed and readily agreed to pick it up.

"I'll see you in a few baby." She told me she loved me before we hung up and I said the same. I would never ever tire of hearing those words coming out of her mouth.

After calling in the order I cleaned my desk then locked up the office. I drove over to the restaurant and parked in the handy to-go parking spot they designated. Once in the restaurant I waited for the hostess to come back to her station. She was about Bella's age, with big fake breasts, bleached blond hair and clearly veneers on her teeth. She was also wearing so much mascara that it looked like she had live spiders crawling on her eyes, I attempted not to shudder but I could feel the chill running up my spine, I just hope she didn't notice.

"How can I help you sir?" She asked breathily. I'm sure she was trying to sound sexy but I it just came off like she was constipated. What? I'm a doctor; I know what that sounds like.

"I have an order for pick up under the name Cullen." The girl was staring at my crotch not paying any damn attention to what I had just said so I cleared my throat, you'd think that she'd be embarrassed for being caught staring, but no; the girl just smirked at me. "Pick up for Cullen, please."

"Yes sir." The girl sauntered off swaying her hips but I couldn't be bothered to pay her any attention because Bella had just texted me. Her words would always be more important than some slutty girl trying to flaunt her fake shit at me.

_I miss you, please hurry home to me – B _ The text read.

_Just picking up dinner now, will be with you very shortly baby – E_

_Mmmm, good I'm starving…and not just for risotto – B_

Where was that fucking hostess? I had a hot girl to get to. I was just about to type a reply to my girl when the skank came back with my order.

"Here you are sir. That'll be $35.20, but I'd be happy to just _give it to you_." Again she was staring at my crouch licking her lips. Gross.

"I think I'll just pay for it, I don't think my _girlfriend_ would appreciate you _giving it to me_."

She leaned over so I would hear her softly spoken words, but I really wish I hadn't. "She doesn't need to know how well I can suck your cock." That was it; I had had it with this woman.

"While that may be true I wouldn't be able to get it up for you to suck me off because I find you absolutely repulsive. Now if you'll excuse me I have an extremely sexy woman waiting at home for me that has no issue getting me hard with just a look." The girl, whose name I didn't even bother getting got bright red and she actually stomped her foot like a toddler. If I weren't afraid of this girl punching me I would have laughed my ass off at her.

"HOW DARE YOU!" She screamed, well more like screeched. Everyone in the restaurant was looking at us. "I will have you know that I am VERY good, you don't know what you're missing asshole."

"Is there a problem here?" A short balding man approached us, judging by the look on the skanks face I would say this was the manager.

"Why yes there is Mr.?"

"Moonfield, I'm the manager here."

I nodded in understanding. "Well Mr. Moonfield, I was just picking up a to go order and your hostess here propositioned me and when I kindly told her no thank you and that I had a girlfriend she did it again. I figured I needed to get my message across and she started screaming at me. Now I don't know what kind of hiring process you go through here, but I think you need to be a little more stringent on whom you hire." Mr. Moonfield was starting to look as red as the hostess was a second ago, he turned his angry gaze on the slut in question and I took that as my cue to leave. "I need to go, my girlfriend is waiting. Have a nice evening."

"Yes sir. You have a nice evening as well and to apologize for Maria's outrageous behavior please consider your next meal on the house. I'm here most nights except for Wednesdays and Thursdays so ask for me next time you come in. Maria here will also not be working here any longer so please do come back, we appreciate your patronage sir." He shakes my hand and I just leave without another word, I've said my peace and I needed to get home to Bella.

The drive to her apartment was short and she let me up as soon as I rang her. When I got up to her apartment the door was wide open, I'm sure she opened it when I called her from downstairs, but I didn't like her just leaving her door open. "Bella?" I called out into the empty open space.

"In the bathroom, I'll be right out." I made quick work of plating our dinners as I waited for Bella. I didn't have to wait long, she came out of the hallway and my jaw dropped to the floor. She was my wet dream come to life right here in this little apartment. "Hey baby. Smells good." I didn't say anything, hell I _couldn't_ say anything. She was dressed in this absolutely sinful navy blue teddy. The part covering her breasts left absolutely nothing to the imagination and the part covering her stomach was sheer with a little lace covering the bottom. I could see the hint of lace panties in the same color underneath it all. I think I may have been drooling a little bit. "What's the matter?" Bella asks innocently.

"What. Are. You. Wearing?" My eyes hungrily appraised every inch of her body.

"What this old thing?" She asked me, her voice teasing, she knew exactly what she was doing to me. "Seems you have a little problem there Mr. Cullen." I growled in response. Little, HA, there's nothing little about me. "Did I offend you baby? You know I don't think you're little." Bella's sweet hand was on my crotch, groping my dick relentlessly through my pants. My head fell back while she worked me over, but sooner than I would have liked her hand disappeared and the heat of her body so close to mine was gone. When I opened my eyes she was getting our plates ready for dinner.

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked in mock indignation. Did she really think I was just going to let her grope me, making me hard as a fucking rock and then just stop? Not likely.

"Um, getting dinner. I'm starving Edward."

"The food can wait, I however, cannot."

"Consider it foreplay. No touching until after I have food in my stomach, I haven't eaten all day." I huffed, knowing I hadn't won this one.

"Fine, but after dinner you are mine." She smiled and took our plates to the table. I followed with a bottle of wine and two glasses.

Once seated I couldn't keep my eyes off of Bella's chest in that thing, I mean it was see through for crying out loud and her nipples were hard, just waiting for my mouth. I vaguely heard her saying something but I was entranced and couldn't hear a damn thing.

"…and then I said, sure I could do a threesome with you and Brad. I'm sure my boyfriend would have no trouble sharing me." Threesome? What?

"Uh, WHAT? Who exactly are you having a threesome with?" I asked her.

"Oh so that got your attention I see. You haven't heard a word I've said since we sat down." Bella was a little mad, I could tell by the sound of her voice but honestly how did the woman expect me to concentrate long enough to have a discussion when her breasts were hanging out begging me for attention. I dare any guy to try and talk when you've got that to look at.

"What did you expect to happen when you came traipsing out here dressed, or should I say not dressed in that?"

"Fine, you win that one. I'll go get my robe, and then will you talk to me?" I did not liking the idea of a robe covering her up but it seemed like she was actually serious about talking so I nodded in agreement. I had to wonder though why she would put that teddy on if she wanted to have a serious discussion, could she not see that it would be a problem for me to see straight much less form a coherent thought. When she came back she had a robe already on and her hair up in a messy bun, it didn't really help my situation. All I could think about was unwrapping my present. Damn it I needed to focus on something other than sex. My grandma in her underwear, Emmett's naked hairy ass, Jacob and Paul getting it on….yep all done. "Better?" Bella giggled.

"Yes. Now what did you want to talk about?" Dinner was actually really good now that I was distracted.

"Well I was talking to Tanya, Rose and Alice this afternoon and decided that I wanted to throw a dinner party, but my place isn't big enough."

"Whoa. Back it up, you actually talked to Alice?" This pleased me and shocked me at the same time. Those two really needed to work their shit out, they are as close as sisters and I know Bella really missed Alice but last time I talked to her about it she practically bit my head right off for even mentioning her name.

"Yes, I thought about what you said the other day and decided you were right. She is like a sister to me and I should just forgive her for what happened, I mean I forgave Jasper and he actually cheated on me. I don't know I guess I just realized how immature I was being." I can't see her face because she's looking at her hands which she's currently checking her nails or whatever it is that girls do, but the tone of her voice, it's just sad and resigned. I can't tell if this is actually something she wanted to do or did because everyone told her to do.

"Bella? Look at me baby, please?" When she finally lifts her head her eyes are glassy like she's about to cry. "Oh baby." I'm out of me seat kneeling next to her, rubbing her thigh to comfort her. "Did…did you? Shit." My hand automatically goes to the back of my neck like it does when I'm frustrated, how the hell do I ask her this without pissing her off? Her big brown eyes are looking right into my green ones, urging me to continue. It's in those brown eyes that I see that anything I say to her right now will likely upset her, but she'll forgive me. "Baby, did you forgive Alice because _you_ wanted to or because _everyone_ else wanted you too?"

"Honestly?" she asks, I nod because, yeah I want her to be honest. "I did it for you and me, nobody else. I know what you're going to say and I didn't do it to make you feel better, I just…I really thought about it after we talked and I know it hurts you to see me so angry with her and I'd do anything to take that pain away from you."

"Bella…"

"No, Edward, let me finish. I have so much going for me right now, so much to be happy about and I don't want what happened with Alice and Jasper to put a dark cloud over that. The fact of the matter is I've missed Alice, missed our friendship and whenever something amazing happens the first thing I automatically want to do is call Alice to tell her but I can't and that makes me sad. I don't know that we'll ever be the same as we were before all this happened, but we can build something new and I'm willing to do that." Bella takes a deep breath and I have to say it seems to help. She looks a lot better already. "Now, about that dinner party, I was hoping that since your place is so much bigger than mine…"

"What's mine is yours baby. Of course we can have the dinner party at my place."

"Thank you." Her beautiful blush colored her cheeks.

"No need to thank me beautiful." We continued eating dinner until we were both stuffed, then worked on the dishes, which thankfully was minimal since we got take-out and sat on the couch. Bella was practically in my lap, leaning into me, her head on my chest and my arm wrapped snuggly around her. It had gotten chilly so I grabbed the blanket from behind me and covered us up. We decided to watch a movie on TV but before I knew it I was waking up to bright sunlight streaming through the curtains in her living room. We had managed to lie down on the couch, which is good considering I don't think sleeping upright would have done anything good for my neck or back. The sun didn't seem to be too bright so I figured it was early enough that I could just hold Bella for a little bit longer before having to get up and go to work.

**BPOV**

I woke up to heavy limbs and wondered what was going on until I actually opened my eyes and there was my insanely hot boyfriend looking at me with such love I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest. I had every intention last night of mauling him after dinner, but I guess all the work at the studio along with my normal responsibilities was really taking it out of me. "Morning."

Instead of responding with words he kissed me and not just any kind of kiss mind you, it's the deep passionate, definitely leading to other things kind of kiss. The kind of kiss that we really shouldn't be doing before brushing our teeth, but oddly right now I couldn't seem to give a damn, he didn't either if the moan and the hardening on my thigh were any indication. I was just about to relieve him of his pants when his cell phone rang.

"Dammit!" He reached over to grab his phone looking at the caller id; his other hand was still firmly placed on my boob. "Shit, it's my dad; I need to take this baby." I pouted but didn't say anything; it was all part of his job. "Hey dad, what's going on? Okay, can't Martin cover? Well where the hell is he? That lousy son of a… Just when I was about to get laid." I giggled at this one because he muttered it under his breath. "What? Nothing, alright, alright I'll be there in an hour. Yes that's the best I can do, I'm at Bella's and we just woke up. Okay see you in an hour then. Bye dad." When he hung up he threw his phone on the table next to us and resumed his assault on my boob, he was still hard as rock and grinding deliciously into my leg.

"Edward? Don't you have to go?" I asked sadly. I didn't really want him to go but he obviously had something he needed to do at the hospital. He started removing my clothing instead of answering me.

"I need to get you out of these clothes, fuck you, take a shower with you, fuck you again and then I'll go to the fucking hospital. Fucking Martin." His lips descended on my pert nipple now that it was free from my nightie making me moan like a porn star. "Mmm, you taste so good baby." My robe along with my barely there nightie soon found their way to the floor along with my panties while Edward played my body like an instrument. I was writhing and moaning as he worked me over and he hadn't even touched my pussy yet.

"More." I managed to get out.

Edward slammed his fingers into my soaking wet core working me over until I was right on the edge but then pulled away completely. I whimpered, my eyes squeezed shut, when I opened them to see where he'd gone he was standing before me completely naked, his beautiful hard cock calling to me so I sat up and took him all the way to the back of my throat. I sucked and licked him, swirling my tongue around the head at every pass. Now it was his turn to moan like a porn star. I could tell from his cries of pleasure that he was close and I also knew that he wouldn't want to cum in my mouth so I reluctantly took him out, my teeth gently scraping the skin as I went and laid back, legs spread wide. If it had been anyone else I would have felt self conscious about the way I was displaying myself like a hussy, but with the look of pure desire, lust and love coming from my boyfriend I just felt sexy. "I need you Edward. Please." He was over me and slamming into me almost immediately. God he felt so good.

"Bella, I'm close baby." He pinched my clit pushing me over the edge, his own release following right after mine. I was spent and sated; my limbs like wet spaghetti noodles with Edward sprawled on top of me. I knew it would only be a matter of time before he got up, not wanting to squash me so I enjoyed his weight on top of me while I could. "I don't know how, but it just gets better every time with you Bella."

"I know. I love you." I kissed him then, sweet and slow, I could feel him stirring again. I knew my man had some stamina, but holy hell he just had a rather intense orgasm, shouldn't he need time to recover?

"Let's shower; I need you again before I have to work." I giggled but followed him into the shower where we washed each other and made love against the cold tile wall.

Edward left all too soon after he had dressed, I missed him the second he had his hand on the doorknob. I had no idea that love could feel like this, it would be frightening if I wasn't completely sure that he's the one I want to spend the rest of my life with, it's fast yes, but when you know you know, right? My phone chirping brings me from my thoughts and I smiled when I see it's from Edward.

**Miss you already baby. :* - E**

_I was just thinking about you and I miss you too. Love you so very much. – B_

It was about time for me to get going, I had studio time to get to and my hair was a mess since I didn't have time to do anything with it after our shower, not that I'm complaining mind you.

**And what exactly were you thinking about me? Was it dirty? ;) – E**

_Not in the least actually. – B_

**Well why not? Am I not sexy enough for you? - E**

This made me giggle, yeah right like he's not sexy enough for any woman. I was just in the middle of replying to him when my phone chirped again.

**And don't think I didn't notice that you didn't answer my question. – E**

Dammit. I was really hoping he wouldn't notice. I wasn't quite ready to share exactly what I was thinking before he texted, thoughts of marriage would certainly scare him away at this stage in our relationship.

_You know you're sexy as hell, I don't think I could handle any more sexiness. – B_

I know, I still didn't answer his question, I know he's just going to keep pestering me so I fire off another quick text tell him that I have to go into the studio, to which he replies with a sad face. He's too cute.

The studio is bustling with people, but I spot Bryan right away, he's kind of hard to miss in the bright pink shirt he's sporting today.

"The wife bought it for me, don't give me that look Swan." I can't help but burst out into laughter. We had gotten to know each other pretty well over the past couple of months, so well that he's more like a brother to me then my "boss".

"I didn't even say anything."

"I know that look; you don't need to say anything." He walks over to the soundboard adjusting a few things here and there, looks at me then back inside the studio. I take that as my cue to get started. It was going to be a crazy day. I am at the end of my third take on the very first song, the one I wrote for Edward when Bryan cuts me off…again. I'm starting to get aggravated. "Bella, come on out, I have someone for you to meet." This confuses me seeing as I thought I had met everyone from the record company that I needed to. When I finally make it through to Bryan I stop dead in my tracks at who is standing next to him.

"Hey Bella, Bryan has told me a lot about you and after listening to you for the past hour I have to say I'm impressed." His hand was held out waiting for mine but all I could do was stare, I'm sure I looked like some crazed fan girl about to attack him, but I just couldn't move. I was literally looking at one of my all time favorite artists and he was talking to me, me Bella Swan. The sound of a throat clearing next to me pulled me from my awestruck daze.

"Sorry, hi. It's _really_ nice to meet you. I'm a huge fan." I finally said, although I think I more like squeaked it. Rose and Alice are going to be beyond jealous when they hear about this.

"Why thank you Bella, I always love meeting fans and can I just say that I am now a huge fan of yours as well?" I blushed, obviously, I mean Adam freaking Levine was shaking my hand telling me he was a fan of mine. How awesome is that? Did I forget to mention that I was talking to Adam Levine? I think I may have died and gone to heaven.

"Thank you, that means a lot coming from you. So what brings you by? I'm not taking up your studio time am I?"

"No, no, not at all. Bryan actually asked me to come by because the band has been having a little problem and he thought you might be able to help us out." This just confused me, how was _I_ going to help one of the most popular bands on the planet?

"Um, sure. I don't know what I could possibly help you with, but I'd be happy to try. What's the problem?" Adam and Bryan just looked at each other with big smiles on their faces. It made me a little nervous, they had cooked something up, I could just tell.

"Well, Bella, it seems that Adam here would like it if you opened for them on their upcoming tour." I felt my jaw hit the floor, no really, HIT. THE. FLOOR.

"Wh-what?" I stuttered, probably for the first time in my life. I was in shock, or maybe I was dreaming, this is completely something my brain would cook up while I was sleeping. I pinched myself, you know just to see and that shit hurt. "Ouch." Bryan burst into loud guffaws, already used to me, but Adam looked at me like I'd lost my mind. "Sorry, had to make sure I was actually awake." Adam laughed lightly, while Bryan was still being obnoxious.

"I actually had the band listen in on speaker phone and they all agree. We'd love it if you would open for us on tour Bella. It'll be only for three months to start. What do ya say?"

"Can I think about it?"

"Sure, but please don't make me wait too long, I'm not a very patient man." Bryan chuckled at this but didn't refute it so I told them I would get back to them by tomorrow. I needed to talk to Edward first.

Adam left, but not before asking me if I'd be interested in doing a duet with him, which of course I agreed to without any reservation at all, and I got back to work. We nailed down two songs before we had to go. I was on cloud nine all the way back to my apartment. Jacob and Paul followed me into the apartment with two huge pizzas and a case of beer.

"Are we having a party and I wasn't told?" I asked, not that this wasn't normal for them but I really just needed to talk to Edward.

"No, we have something to tell you Bells." Jake said as he put the pizzas down and the beer in the fridge.

"Oh yeah, what's that?" Paul was taking out the plates serving up the pizza; their plates were of course piled high while mine only had one piece.

"Let's sit down on the couch. Jake, grab a few beers, will ya?" Paul suggested. Jake yelled out a sure as we made our way into the living room. I started in on my slice since I was starving and waited patiently for them to spill the beans. Jake brought over the beers and sat next to Paul.

"We're moving baby girl." Jake just blurted out. I could tell he was excited and could hardly contain himself.

"That's great guys, where are you moving to?" I asked excitedly. They were always talking about buying a house in the burbs and maybe adopting.

"We'll still be in Seattle, only in a nice big house. Paul's parents bought us a house Bells, can you believe it?" I hopped up to give them both a huge hug, I was beyond happy for my friends. "I can't believe it myself. Escrow just closed and wait until you see this place B, it's freaking huge. 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, a huge kitchen with completely updated appliances. It's a dream come true B. Oh and wait until you see the backyard, it has a built in spa big enough for 10 people."

"Or three of you." I interjected then laughed my ass off, I cracked myself up.

"Haha B!"

"So when is moving day?" I ask with a mouth full of pizza.

"Two weeks." I nearly choke at this news. Two weeks, two of my best friends are moving in two weeks? Paul starts patting my back.

"I'm okay. Thanks Paul." I take a sip of beer to wash down the pizza that almost killed me before I try talking again. "Wow, that's great guys. So how far away is this new amazing house? You aren't going to move and never talk to me again are you guys?"

"Of course not B. It's only 15 minutes from here. We're already planning a house warming party, which you better come to or I will come over here and drag your ass to it by your long beautiful hair." Jake's always had a thing for my hair, he's even threatened to chop it all off in the middle of the night and make himself a wig out of it. It creeped me out the first time he said it since it was the day we met, but after so long of being friends I know he would never do such a thing.

"That won't be necessary Jake. You tell me when and I'll be there." My cell starts ringing so I excuse myself to go get it. It's Edward. "Hey baby."

"Hey sexy girl. I was just leaving the office and wanted to make sure it wasn't too late to come over. I _really_ miss you." The way he said this made it very clear what exactly he missed and it isn't my sparkling personality, although I'm sure he misses that too, my man is just horny. God I love him.

"Mmmm, I miss you too. You better come over because I have some things planned for you."

"You do, huh? Well I guess I should haul some ass and get there." He says. I can hear the car door shut and the ignition start. I don't like him driving and talking on the phone so I tell him to hurry but to be careful as well. He chuckles but says he'll be here in 15 minutes, I guess I need to get rid of Paul and Jake now.

"Hey guys, Edward's on his way over so…" I stop there because really what am I supposed to say "hey guys you need to leave because my hot as fuck boyfriend is coming over to fuck me senseless", not happening.

"Say no more B. We'll just clean up and head on out." Paul gets up from the couch picking up the pizza and empty beer bottles on his way to the kitchen.

"Are you okay B, you seem a little…I don't know…anxious tonight." Jake's always been too perceptive for his own good, but I can't talk to him about going on tour before I talk to Edward so I tell him I'm fine, he gives me a hug then he and Paul head back to their apartment. Five minutes later the door opens and Edward walks in. He doesn't bother with saying hi, just drops his stuff, locks the door and rushes over to me. His lips are on mine in an instant and things quickly heat up. It doesn't matter that we just made love this morning, twice; I need him now, desperately.

Two hours later we're both completely sated after three round of hot and sweaty sex. My man has some pretty amazing endurance, what can I say? Even though I am totally worn out the offer from Adam is still ever present in my mind and I know I need to tell Edward or I won't get any sleep at all tonight.

"Edward?" He huffs like he usually does when he's almost asleep. "Edward, are you awake?"

"Wha, huh. Bella? Yeah, yeah I'm awake. What's wrong?" Shit, now I feel bad, I woke the poor guy up.

"Nothing's wrong, I just…" I trail off. Should I just let him sleep? I know he's had a rough day, but he sits up, bringing me with him. He rubs my arm soothingly with his big warm hands, so I take a deep breath and tell him. "I ran into someone today at the studio."

"Oh yeah, who?"

"Adam Levine." I tell him.

"Really? That's pretty cool; I know how much you love his music. That must have been surreal for you."

"Yeah I couldn't say a word when I first saw him, I was literally awe struck. He's so nice though, so down to earth. I didn't expect that."

"That's great; you never know how those rock stars are going to be. I'm glad he was nice to you, if he wasn't it probably would have put quite the damper on your little crush on him." He chuckles and so do I. "Is that what you wanted to talk about?"

"Sort of." Here goes nothing. "He actually asked me to go on tour with Maroon 5 as the opening act." Silence, there was nothing but silence. I was afraid to look at his face so I just stayed put and waited, his hand completely stilled on my arm too, yes letting him process this news was my best option right now.

"Um..wow Bella. I…I'm really proud of you." More silence, I stayed in his arms waiting patiently. "When would you leave?"

I thought for a moment and realized I didn't know when the tour would start, we never discussed it. "I don't know actually, he didn't say."

"Are you going to do it?"

"I wanted to talk to you first before I made a decision. He said it would only be for three months to start. I don't know if I can stand being away from you for that long though." I told him honestly. "Plus touring isn't something I ever saw myself doing." I felt him nod his head, he knew this wasn't something I initially wanted to do, but I had to admit to myself that touring with freaking Maroon 5 did sound like a dream. Would I be an idiot to not do it? Could we make it through a long distance relationship for three months or longer? Would Edward even want to or would he break up with me?

His voice was sad when he spoke again. "Can we talk about this tomorrow? I'm really tired and can't really think."

"Uh..okaaay. I guess it would do some good to sleep on it." Something was off with him and I had a feeling this news was going to cause a rift between us, I certainly hoped we could work around it, obviously, but his reaction wasn't giving me hope.

My mind was running in all sorts of what-if's as Edward started lightly snoring beside me. I think I finally found sleep at 4 in the morning and even then my dreams were of Edward and I not making it through this. I truly hope that my fears were unfounded, I can't lose him, it would break me beyond anything James ever put me through.

When I woke the next morning Edward was gone. There was a note by the now full coffee machine telling me he got called in and he'd call me later to talk, but it felt like he was avoiding me. I didn't hear from him for the rest of the day and by the time 11 pm rolled around I shut off my phone before shuffling off to bed. He'd come to me when he was ready.

**Please review. I know I left a cliffy, but I won't leave you dangling there for long. Any ideas on what's going on inside Edward's head?**


	20. AN

**Hey guys, it seems that I was nominated for Fic of the Week over at The Lemonade Stand. I would love it if you all could go over to the site and vote for my little story. The link is below, just take out the spaces. I'll post an update soon, it's almost done.**

**Thanks everyone – Jen**

** www. tehlemonadestand ?zx=1ab05b3e218cb388**


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